34.5% of women experience depression post abortion according to a new meta-analysis of psychiatric literature recently published in the peer-reviewed journal BMC Psychiatry.

The authors analysed 15 studies across the world – from China, Germany, Iran, Australia, Kenya, Jordan, Kosovo, Denmark, Lithuania, Turkey, and the Netherlands. They noted that post-abortion depression is a “common problem for all women of reproductive age.”

Moreover, the review shows that women from lower-income nations are more likely to experience post-abortion depression compared to women from higher-income nations.

The overall findings were somewhat skewed however as the meta-analysis also included data from three research papers dealing with spontaneous abortion/miscarriage. When these three papers are set aside, the studies focussing solely on induced abortion show even higher rates of depression post abortion.