Death is also life
Belliard, F.
Revue de l'Infirmiere 35(2): 9-13
1985
ISSN/ISBN: 1293-8505 PMID: 3845646 Document Number: 264598
A nurse at the Center for Voluntary Pregnancy Interruption and Contraception in Angers, which receives 30 abortion requests each week, describes psychological aspects of nursing care for abortion patients. Abortion patients statistically are most likely to be married women around 27 years old with husbands aged 31 on average and with 2 children. Abortions are done under local anesthesia, so that there is no hiatus between the time "before" and that "after" the procedure. Women speak about their moral and physical suffering; their choice is respected by the staff. Despite the regret or mild depression that may follow an abortion, most women experience the greatest difficulty before the procedure and feel primarily relieved afterwards. Nursing work with abortion patients consists in being open to them and accompanying them for a few hours. The patients' comfort and postabortion morbidity depend largely on the reception and understanding they are given by the staff. After the procedure, the topic of contraception is discussed with the patient. Abortion and contraception cannot be dissociated because fertility regulation involves greater well-being for all members of the family. The abortion center is a place of life in which women and couples take responsibility for their sexuality and begin again. It is important not to impose beliefs or feelings about sexuality on the patient. A training which encouraged reflection on the grand problems of life and death as well as understanding of emotions, sentiments, and reactions would be helpful in gaining self knowledge and in living through events such as abortion. A meeting with a psychiatrist every 3 weeks is arranged for all staff members who desire it in order to maintain their emotional balance and work out troubling situations encountered at work. The work at the abortion center is 1 of listening and gaining the patient's confidence in order to dedramatize the abortion and permit the woman and the couple to elect an appropriate and effective contraceptive method.