Design: This study used van Manen’s phenomenological method. The purpose of phenomenological reflection is to discover the meaning of lived experiences and portray these experiences as themes to convey meaning, give form to the essences of the experience, and describe the content by attempting to touch essential essences of the experience.

Population, Sample, Setting, Years: The sample was 16 European-American women between the ages of 38 - 92.

Concept: Most formal research in the area of elective abortion have studied women within months – 8 years after. The opportunity to explore women’s thoughts about their abortion experiences near the end of their intended childbearing years is a necessary step in the evolution of our understanding of the experience of abortion for women.

Methods: Phenomenological analysis uncovered the experiential structures of the experience and conveyed this in text form by: anecdotal narratives, themes, and a linguistic transformation.

Findings: Nine themes comprised these women’s experiences of past abortions. They were: caught up in the moment; betrayed - - by my body, by my birth control; "very personal, very yours"; the experience of abortion cycled through life; embodiment: giving form to the child, stowing away feelings about the abortion; abortion disrupted aspects of life; making sense of the abortion; and relationships affected the abortion experience.

Conclusions: Improved definitions of the characteristics of abortion experiences are needed; the psychological responses reported in the research literature are similar to those reported by these women, but do not capture what their experience was over time.

Implications: This research contributes to nursing science by expanding our understanding of thoughts of women after abortion. Future researchers should develop portraits of the abortion experience over time and in different cultures.

Back to High-Risk Pregnancies
Back to 15th International Nursing Research Congress
Sigma Theta Tau International
July 22-24, 2004