Women who Come to Hospital for Abortion and Their Social and Demographic Situation

Abstract

The paper presents a characteristic of women from the town of Szczecin and its nearby surroundings who wanted to have abortion in July and August 1990. This operation was supposed to be carried out in Doctors Specialists co-operative "Medicus" in Szczecin.

Mothers who had a psychological examination (NO 192) differed in respect of many social and demographic characteristics and in respect of the motivation of the intended act. Women at the age of 28 to 37 dominated in this group. They were maried and had mostly two children, and worked.

The main reason to have abortion was a fear to have their existential conditions get worse or also the conditions of their family. It seems, however, that this reason was only apparent. A lot points to that when women had to decide they could not fall back on their husbands for support, and their religious-moral formation was insufficient for the acceptance of another child.

That is why many problems arise here which deal, among other things, with maturity to responsible parenthood and conditions as well as methods of effective aid for pregnant women in a traumatic situation.