Stress, Poverty Blamed for High Abortion Rates in U.S.

A new study has found that 57 percent women who had an abortion in 2008 had at least one disruptive event within the last calendar year.

The majority of these women who had a disruptive event, 63 percent, were poor. According to authors, many women undergo abortion in the midst of difficult, complex situations.

Disruptive events include death of close relative, loss of a job, mortgage, debt and being victim of a crime.

The study results are based on data obtained from 9,500 women who had an abortion in 2008. For the study, 49 women participated in an in-depth interview about their abortion.

The study found that about 40 percent of all women who had an abortion were poor.

More than 50 percent of the participants said that they were using a contraceptive method in the month in which they got pregnant. However, in-depth interviews showed that many women did not use contraception due to some disruptive events. Many poor women reported losing jobs and in turn their medical insurance coverage that further resulted in losing access to hormonal contraceptives. Some participants said that their partner got them pregnant by tampering with the condoms.

Seven of the 49 participants who gave an in-depth interview had been exposed to intimate partner violence.

According to authors, access to better contraceptive methods like long-term contraception devices can help poor women avoid getting pregnant. These methods can be reversed and require no–maintenance.

"That poor women were more likely to experience events such as unemployment and breaking up with a partner may be both a cause and a consequence of economic strain. While it might not be possible to prevent these disruptions from occurring, we can help women in these situations by making it easier for them to access and use the most effective contraceptive methods," said Rachel K. Jones from the from the Guttmacher Institute in New York, lead author of the study in a press release.

The study is published in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Healthcare.