Identifying women in need of further discussion about the decision to have an abortion and eventual outcome.

INTRODUCTION

In order to better identify those women requesting abortion who are not certain of their decision and would like more detailed discussion, we piloted use of a self-completed validated questionnaire containing the London Measure of Unintended Pregnancy (LMUP) amongst women requesting an abortion at a hospital clinic in Scotland.

STUDY DESIGN

A retrospective case note review was conducted to determine the proportion for whom the pregnancy was clearly unintended (based on LMUP score), the proportion who were certain of their decision and the eventual outcome of the pregnancy.

RESULTS

One hundred and ninety-one women with a viable pregnancy completed a questionnaire. Based on the LMUP score, the pregnancy was clearly unintended in 165 (86%) cases; 162 of these (98%) proceeded to abortion. One hundred and seventy-three women (91%) stated that they were certain of the decision to have an abortion, 167 of them (97%) proceeded to abortion, and 153 women (89%) did not want any further discussion. Thirteen women (6.8%; 95% confidence interval: 4.0-11.3) continued the pregnancy.

CONCLUSION

Almost all women requesting an induced abortion had a clearly unintended pregnancy, were certain of their decision and did not wish further counseling. A simple self-completed questionnaire identifies those who may benefit from further discussion. Subjecting women to compulsory counseling about their decision to have an abortion is in conflict with their wishes and wastes resources.