Verghote Kato, Neeser Nathalie, Wangmo Tenzin, Pennings Guido, Provoost Veerle
Ph.D. Student, Bioethics Institute Ghent; Department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Ph.D. Student, Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Sex Reprod Health Matters. 2024 Dec;32(1):2444719. doi: 10.1080/26410397.2024.2444719. Epub 2025 Jan 29.
Abortion is an indispensable healthcare service for women of all reproductive ages. Research on abortion is often focused on younger women, neglecting those who are closer to the end of their reproductive lifespan. This study presents findings from qualitative interviews with Belgian women who had an abortion at the age of 40 or older, conducted between May 2022 and April 2023. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, we explored the experiences and decision-making processes of women who had abortions later in life. We identified three main themes. First, the women's families were at the centre of their abortion decisions, with some women also presenting advanced age as a significant factor in their decision-making. This emphasis on age was connected to perceived social norms about appropriately timed childbearing. Second, the women experienced their unplanned pregnancies as both physically and emotionally demanding, and desired to terminate them as soon as possible. Some participants felt additional emotional burdens because of delays caused by the mandatory waiting period and/or busy schedules at abortion centres. Third, the women expressed feelings of self-blame for their unplanned pregnancies. This self-blame was closely tied to their expectation of social disapproval, which made them cautious to share their abortion experience with people in their social circle. This study enhances our understanding of the experiences and meaning-making of abortion in women of advanced reproductive age. It highlights the need to destigmatise the topic and the importance for professionals and researchers to consider family preservation and advanced reproductive age as potential factors shaping abortion decision-making.
堕胎是所有育龄女性不可或缺的医疗服务。关于堕胎的研究通常聚焦于年轻女性，而忽视了那些接近生育末期的女性。本研究呈现了2022年5月至2023年4月期间对比利时40岁及以上堕胎女性进行定性访谈的结果。通过诠释现象学分析，我们探究了大龄女性堕胎的经历和决策过程。我们确定了三个主要主题。首先，女性的家庭是她们堕胎决定的核心，一些女性也将高龄视为其决策的重要因素。这种对年龄的强调与关于适时生育的社会规范观念有关。其次，这些女性经历的意外怀孕在生理和情感上都要求很高，她们希望尽快终止妊娠。一些参与者因强制等待期和/或堕胎中心繁忙的日程安排导致的延误而感到额外的情感负担。第三，这些女性对意外怀孕表达了自责情绪。这种自责与她们对社会不认可的预期紧密相关，这使得她们在向社交圈中的人分享堕胎经历时很谨慎。本研究增进了我们对大龄育龄女性堕胎经历及意义构建的理解。它强调了消除该话题污名化的必要性，以及专业人士和研究人员将家庭维系和高龄视为影响堕胎决策潜在因素的重要性。
