Abortion Experience Research Articles

Online Forum Conversations on Abortion in Poland: Navigating Medical, Emotional, and Legal Challenges

Abstract Background Abortion is a common medical procedure worldwide, but access is restricted in Poland, forcing many women to seek abortions without medical supervision. This can lead to health risks and reflects broader challenges regarding reproductive rights and healthcare. Methods We conducted a qualitative and quantitative analysis of online forums discussing abortion to understand the challenges faced by women in Poland. Data was gathered from popular abortion forums identified through Google searches, with a pilot study refining the research focus. Results A total of 13,397 responses from 370 threads across 4 forums were analyzed. The most prevalent theme was the ‘Abortion Process Progression,’ indicating a strong need for information and support. Discussions on ‘Emotional and Psychological Aspects’ and ‘Medical and Pharmacological Aspects’ highlighted the need for holistic care. This suggests that legal restrictions and fear of repercussions hinder women’s access to professional assistance, exacerbating health disparities and inequalities. Conclusions This study offers a general look at the abortion experiences of Polish women, revealing challenges that often go unnoticed by policymakers and healthcare professionals. By analyzing online forums, it uncovers nuanced issues such as the lack of access to medical supervision, information gaps, and emotional support, highlighting discrepancies between policy and needs. The findings call for decriminalizing abortion, launching educational campaigns to combat misinformation, and strengthening support systems, aligning Poland’s reproductive health services with European Union standards, ensuring women’s access to safe and supportive healthcare. Key messages • This study shows how Poland’s restrictive abortion laws push women to online forums, revealing medical, emotional, and logistical challenges, emphasizing the need for care and accurate information. • The research highlights the need for decriminalizing abortion, addressing misinformation, and support Poland’s reproductive health services with EU standards, ensuring safer care for women.

Factors associated with positive human papillomavirus (HPV) test results in cervical precancer screening: a cross-sectional study at Souro Sanou National Teaching Hospital (SSNTH) in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.

Human papilloma virus testing is a new method of screening for precancerous cervical lesions. Here we identified factors associated to the positive Human papilloma virus-testing in the context of cervical precancer screening at the Souro Sanou National Teaching Hospital in Burkina Faso. Conducted from June 2021-May 2022, this was a cross-sectional study, including patients aged between 25 and 55years-old and screened for precancerous lesions and received HPV-testing at the Department of Gynecology, Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine (DGORM) of the SSNTH. The proportion of positive HPV-test was calculated, and we identified factors associated to positive HPV-test using logistic regression. Of the 759 patients came for precancerous lesions screening, 559 patients were included. Their mean-age was 38.8 ± 7.9years-old, 94.3% were from urban area and 50.3% identified as housewives. Regarding the past medical history, it noted: number of gestures (3.2 ± 2.0), parity (2.8 ± 1.9), number of living children (2.8 ± 1.9), having abortion experience (24.0%), age of first-sexual-intercourse(18.6 ± 2.3years), alcohol (9.1%) and tobacco (1.0%) consumption, sexually-transmitted-infection (27.0%), Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)infection (5.0%); none had been vaccinated against HPV. Biologically, 16.6% [95% CI: 13.6-20] of the women had a positive HPV-test. The factors significantly associated with positive HPV-test were: occupation in the private sector [OR: 0.06(0.0-0.5); p < 0.001], having a sexually-transmitted-infection [OR: 3.9(2.0-7.7); p < 0.001], age of first-sexual-intercourse [OR: 0.7(0.6-0.9); p < 0.001], sexual-multiple-partnership [OR: 17.5(8.1-39.6); p < 0.001], and HIV status [OR: 13.2(4.4-40.5); p < 0.001]. These results call for health actions through the reinforcement for behavioral change mainly about sexually-transmitted-infections, and for the raising awareness of the population for the screening related to the precancerous lesions and HIV.

Nurse practitioner medication abortion providers in Canada: results from a national survey

BackgroundIn 2017, nurse practitioners (NPs) became the first non-physician healthcare providers authorised to independently provide medication abortion (MA) in Canada. We aimed to report on demographic and clinical characteristics of...

Acceptance and use of mobile health technology in post-abortion care

BackgroundAbortion and its complications have always been associated with challenges such as the lack of awareness, high cost of receiving in-person services, lack of access to the skilled healthcare workers, distance from healthcare centers in remote areas, and cultural sensitivities. Therefore, the use of mobile health technology in post-abortion care has been suggested. This study aimed to investigate factors influencing the acceptance and use of mhealth technology in post-abortion care.MethodA mixed-methods study was completed in 2023. Initially, a literature review was conducted. Then, a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire was designed based on the results of the literature review. The research participants were gynecologists (n = 24), midwives (n = 38), and women who had experience of abortion (n = 183). Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.ResultsThe findings revealed that the participants had different opinions about the importance of motivating and inhibiting factors which included individual, technical, economic, organizational, and ethico-legal aspects. It seems that the individual, organizational, economic, and ethico-legal motivating factors as well as the ethico-legal inhibiting factors were more important than other factors and had higher mean values. In addition, there was a statistically significant difference between the mean values of gynecologists and patients regarding the individual motivating (P = 0.014) and technical inhibiting factors (P = 0.016). The gynecologists’ opinions regarding the technical motivating factors were also significantly different from midwives (P = 0.044) and patients (P = 0.010).ConclusionMultiple factors may influence the acceptance and use of mhealth technology in post-abortion care. Therefore, mhealth service developers must consider these factors to improve the quality of services and increase technology adoption. This will lead to saving costs, improving health, reducing abortion complications, and ultimately improving quality of life for women. However, further research in patient engagement and health interventions tailored to diverse cultural contexts are recommended.

Patient Preferences and Expectations in Analgesia for First Trimester Surgical Abortion

&lt;i&gt;A central component of a patient’s abortion experience is pain perception and optimization of pain management choices. Yet, data on patients’ experience of pain and their preferences regarding pain strategies are limited and tend to utilize solely quantitative data. This study utilized a qualitative thematic analysis to identify patient priorities, preferences, and expectations for pain management during first-trimester surgical abortion with nitrous oxide or oral sedation. Thirty-one patients seeking a first-trimester surgical abortion, self-selecting inhaled nitrous oxide (NO) (16 patients), or oral sedation (PO) with oxycodone and Ativan (15 patients) enrolled in this prospective cohort study. Participants provided demographic data, rated procedure pain on a 10 cm visual analog scale (VAS), and participated in semi-structured interviews. We analyzed qualitative data using a content analysis approach. Pre-procedure participants wanted a positive experience. Participants endorsed an ideal analgesic as having a quick onset of action, minimal side effects, no addiction potential, and being effective at reducing pain. After the procedure, there we start differences between priorities in NO and PO participants. NO participants valued the resumption of everyday activities, while PO participants desired ongoing anxiolysis. Anticipatory counseling often mitigated higher procedure pain and more medication side effects than anticipated. Participants emphasized that positive interactions with providers/staff significantly improved their abortion experience. Preemptive comprehensive counseling about procedure and analgesic effectiveness, along with providing options for analgesia, will facilitate an affirmative and patient-centered abortion experience.&lt;/i&gt;

Exploring women’s knowledge of abortion legality and association with source of abortion care using population-based survey data in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana

BackgroundKnowledge of the conditions under which abortion is legal is important so that people can advocate for their right to abortion care. Yet minimal research has explored the association between women’s knowledge of abortion legality and the induced abortion care they receive, particularly using population-based survey data.MethodsUsing national survey data collected by Performance Monitoring for Action (PMA) in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, we aimed to compare the prevalence of accurate knowledge of abortion legality, factors associated with knowledge of the law, and the association between knowledge of abortion legality and the source of women’s induced abortion care in these two settings. We ran bivariate and multivariable logistic regressions to assess the relationships of interest.ResultsWe found that awareness and knowledge of the abortion law were low in both Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. In Cote d’Ivoire, women who were older, more educated, and with past abortion experience were more likely to be aware of the law. In Ghana, knowledge of the law did not vary significantly by demographic characteristics. However, in Ghana, knowledge of the law was correlated with women’s use of the formal healthcare system for abortion care, with greater use of clinical sources in rural areas.ConclusionsIt is possible that for populations with reduced access to abortion services, such as those in rural areas, knowledge of the law is advantageous for those seeking facility-based abortion care, particularly in settings where abortion is legal for a range of indications. Interventions seeking to improve access to facility-based abortion care in settings where abortion is legal on various grounds should incorporate education on the legal grounds for abortion.

Punctuated Lives: Abortion, Ellipses, and Parentheses in Annie Ernaux’s L’événement (2000) and Line Papin’s Une vie possible (2022)

Abstract: This article examines the representation of abortion in two autobiographical texts: Annie Ernaux’s L’événement (2000) and Line Papin’s Une vie possible (2022). Analyzing their use of punctuation, particularly parentheses and ellipses, it argues that Papin inherits an aesthetics of hesitation from Ernaux, an aesthetics that allows both writers to make space for others’ experiences of abortion.

Self-reported follow-up care needs can be met in both facility and self-managed abortion: Evidence from low- and middle-income countries

ObjectivesTo understand in-facility follow-up care-seeking behavior among both people who self-managed medication abortions and those who obtained facility-managed care in low-and-middle-income countries. We explore factors that contribute to meeting individual self-reported follow-up care needs, core to person-centered care. Study designWe conducted a qualitative, codebook thematic analysis of 67 in-depth interviews conducted with people who self-managed medication abortions or obtained facility-managed medication abortion care. We first classified individuals as having their follow-up care needs met (not seeking care when the participant felt confident that additional care was not warranted or desired or receiving care if it was desired) or not. Our a priori analytic domains came from the Anderson model of health services utilization - predisposing, enabling, or need factors (perceived and evaluated need for health services) that contributed to having follow-up care needs met or not. We also describe emergent themes within each domain. ResultsMost participants (n=59, 88%) had their follow-up care needs met; half (n=33, 49%) sought follow-up care in a facility. Prior birth or abortion experiences emerged as predisposing factors for having follow-up care needs met. Having accompaniment support (from activists or hotlines who provide abortion guidance outside of clinical settings), knowing what to expect, and information sources were key enabling factors for having follow-up care needs met. Need factors included flexible follow-up care guidelines. Those who did not have their follow-up care needs met described predisposing negative health system experiences; enabling factors including health system challenges, stigma from providers, and legal risk; and need factors of required follow-up care guidelines. ConclusionsMedication abortion follow-up care experiences are diverse, and individual needs can be met both in and outside of health facilities. Understanding prior experiences, enabling accompaniment support, and considering flexible follow-up care guidelines can support meeting individual follow-up care needs, which is essential to person-centered abortion care. ImplicationsFollow-up care needs, essential to ensuring access to high-quality abortion services, can be met in both self-managed and in-facility medication abortion models. Policies that require follow-up care when it is not needed or desired by the person can reinforce ideas that self-managed abortion is not safe or effective, despite existing evidence.

Regulating Abortion Later in Pregnancy: Fetal-Centric Laws and the Erasure of Women's Subjectivity.

In the United States, fetal development markers, including "viability" and the point when a fetus can "feel pain", have permeated the social imaginary of abortion, affecting public support and the legality and availability of care, but the extent to which they describe and orient the experience of abortion at later gestations is unclear. Using interviews with 30 cisgender women in the U.S. who obtained an abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy, we investigate whether and how notions of fetal viability and/or pain operated in their lived experiences of pregnancy and abortion. By respondents' accounts, fetal development-based laws restricting abortion based in purported points of fetal development operated as gestational limits, privileged the viability and pain status of the fetus over that of the prospective neonate, and failed to account for the viability and pain of the pregnant person. The discursive practice of centering fetal development in regulating abortion access makes denial of abortion care because of the status of the fetus conceptually available-even at the point of fertilization-and naturalizes the erasure of the subjectivity of women and others who can become pregnant.

Filiations abortives : l’avortement dans la littérature française de l’extrême contemporain

ABSTRACT If abortion remains a taboo experience anchored—in social, political and media discourse—in the notion of trauma, French literature of the last decades offers increasingly diversified narratives on the question. Wishing to move away from the binaries that have always animated debates on abortion, several authors reveal a much more varied spectrum of reactions towards this experience, which can be contradictory or ambiguous, combining relief with loss. This article focuses on this more complex vision of abortion through the analysis of three literary works of the last decade: Dix-sept ans by Colombe Schneck (2015); Ligne de partage des eaux by Fabienne Swiatly (2011); and Il fallait que je vous le dise by Aude Mermilliod (2019). After reviewing the discourses circulating around abortion, the article demonstrates how, in these works written in the first person, abortion registers as completion incompletion, leaving its marks in the women who might feel a connection to their foetus. Finally, these texts make it possible to read, see, and imagine a mosaic of abortion experiences. This gives rise to filiations made through the experience of abortion, bringing together women who underwent it and put it into words, and encouraging others to share their stories.

Women’s experiences of needing abortion care whilst incarcerated: a systematic review of the international literature

Incarcerated women are confined in institutions designed to punish. These sites often ignore the complex mental and physical health needs of people who are incarcerated. Despite the World Health Organization stressing the need for access to reproductive healthcare in carceral institutions, stigma surrounding abortion care and health inequalities create contextually specific issues for incarcerated people seeking to access these services. There is also a dearth of research conducted directly with incarcerated women, trans men and non-binary people to examine their experiences of abortion. A systematic review of international peer-reviewed and grey literature was completed to summarise existing evidence from research conducted on the experiences of needing abortion care whilst incarcerated. Various experiences were identified including: conditions of confinement shaping abortion decisions; bureaucratic obstacles to accessing abortion services; incarcerated women, carceral staff and carceral healthcare staff’s lack of understanding of abortion rights and procedures; and a scarcity of support and empathy, including experiences of stigmatisation and lack of confidentiality. There exists a significant gap in research examining the experiences of incarcerated people who may need an abortion, emphasising the need for international collaboration and advocacy to address systemic issues that extend beyond local contexts.

The prevalence and correlates of unintended pregnancy among female sex workers in South China: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundFemale sex workers (FSW) are particularly vulnerable to unintended pregnancy. Research examining the experience of unintended pregnancy due to commercial sex among Chinese FSW, however, is limited. This study aimed to examine the prevalence and correlates of unintended pregnancy due to commercial sex among FSW in China.MethodsIn 2021, a cross-sectional study was conducted among 1257 FSW in five cities from Guangdong provinces in South China. Data were collected on social-demographic characteristics, sexual behaviors, experience of unintended pregnancy due to commercial sex and its pregnancy outcome, as well as experience of abortion in lifetime. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed to identify factors associated with unintended pregnancy.ResultsAmong the 1257 FSW, 19.3% reported having at least one unintended pregnancy due to commercial sex. Of those, 96.7% chose to terminate the pregnancy through induced abortion, and 40.5% reported undergoing multiple induced abortions in their lifetime. Multivariable logistic regression indicated that FSW working in current location over one year (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR): 2.82, 95% CI 1.71–4.64) and having more than seven clients in the past week (aOR: 4.53, 95% CI 2.74–7.51) were more likely to have had unintended pregnancy due to commercial sex. Working in high tier (aOR: 0.21, 95% CI 0.14–0.30) and consistent condom use with clients in the past month (aOR: 0.16, 95% CI 0.10–0.23) were associated with a lower proportion of FSW having ever had unintended pregnancy.ConclusionsUnintended pregnancy are prevalent among FSW in South China. Interventions aimed at reducing the prevalence of unintended pregnancy and enhancing post-abortion care could be necessary among Chinese FSW.

Post-abortion care services in Zambian health facilities: a qualitative study of users’ experiences and perceptions

BackgroundDespite attempts to increase Universal Health Coverage, availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality-related challenges remain barriers to receiving essential services by women who need them. We aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of women receiving post-abortal care services in Zambia, within a human-rights framework.MethodsA qualitative case study was conducted between August and September 2021 in Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces of Zambia. Fifteen (15) women seeking post-abortion care services were` interviewed using audio recorders; transcribed data was analyzed using thematic analysis. We report women’s experiences and perceptions of the healthcare system, their experiences of abortion, and healthcare-seeking behaviour. We used the availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality (AAAQ) framework to understand how women claimed their right to healthcare as they sought and utilized post-abortion care services.ResultsWomen who experienced spontaneous abortions delayed seeking health care by viewing symptoms as ‘normal pregnancy symptoms’ and not dangerous. Women also delayed seeking care because they feared the negative attitudes from their communities and the health care providers towards abortion in general, despite it being legal in Zambia. Some services were considered costly, impeding their right to access quality care.ConclusionsWomen delayed seeking care compounded by fear of negative attitudes from the community and healthcare providers. To ensure the provision and utilization of quality all abortion-related healthcare services, there is a need to increase awareness of the availability and legality of safe abortion services, the importance of seeking healthcare early for any abortion-related discomfort, and the provision and availability of free services at all levels of care should be emphasized.

Invisible chain: breaking the taboo of abortion in Jeanne Caruchet’s L’Ensemencée (1904), Annie Ernaux’s L’événement (2000) and Audrey Diwan’s L’événement (2021)

ABSTRACT In L’Événement (2000), the author’s retelling of her experience of an illicit abortion in 1964, Annie Ernaux writes of a ‘chaîne invisible où se côtoient des artistes, des écrivaines, des héroïnes de roman’, stating that ‘[s]on histoire est en elles’. There is a timelessness to Ernaux’s abortion narrative, jumping between two temporal spaces: the contemporary narrator’s experience of writing the novel at the turn of the millennium, and that of the young Annie in the 1960s. Twenty-one years after the novel’s publication, Audrey Diwan’s film adaptation of the same name became another link on this chain, further highlighting the relevance of the story of a young woman’s illicit abortion almost 50 years after the decriminalisation of abortion in France. This article extends Ernaux’s ‘chaîne’ further back in time, by adding another female-authored novel: L’Ensemencée (1904), by Jeanne Caruchet. The author explores how these women’s experiences of abortion are presented across these three works, examining the change in attitudes towards abortion, with particular focus on the evolution of female communities, from the Belle Époque, through the turn of the millennium and into the early 2020s.

Providers' experiences with abortion care: A scoping review.

Induced abortion is one of the most common gynecological procedures in the world, with as many as three in every ten pregnancies ending in abortion. It, however, remains controversial. The objective of this scoping review was to explore and map existing literature on the experiences of those who provide abortion care. This exploratory review followed the Levac et al. guidelines and was reported in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR checklist. CINAHL, Cochrane, EMBASE, PsycInfo, PubMed, and Web of Science were used to identify peer-reviewed, original research articles published on providers' experience of abortion. We identified 106 relevant studies, which include a total sample of 4,250 providers from 28 countries and six continents. Most of the studies were qualitative (n = 83), though quantitative (n = 15) and mixed methods (n = 8) studies were also included. We identified two overarching themes: (1) Providers' experiences with abortion stigma and (2) Providers' reflections on their abortion work. Our findings suggest that providers from around the world experience challenges within society and their communities and workplaces which reinforce the stigmatization and marginalization of abortion and pose questions about the morality of this work. Most, however, are proud of their work, believe abortion care to be socially important and necessary, and remain committed to the provision of care. The findings of this review provide a comprehensive overview on the known experiences of providing abortion care. It is a key point of reference for international providers, researchers, and advocates to further this area of research or discussion in their own territories. The findings of this review will inform future work on how to support providers against stigmatization and will offer providers the chance to reflect on their own experiences.

Women at crossroads: a qualitative study of induced abortion and violence in a Ghanaian region

Unsafe abortions contribute significantly to maternal mortality and morbidity in Ghana. To reduce this, in 1982 abortion laws in Ghana underwent reform to broaden the conditions under which abortion is accessed. Although, evidence in other contexts highlights the contribution of violence to women’s experience of unwanted pregnancy and abortion, such evidence is limited within the Ghanaian abortion literature. This study aims to fill that gap. Informed by phenomenology, interviews were conducted with 10 women who had experienced various forms of violence leading to unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortions. Participants were recruited between June 2017 and March 2018 in the Ashanti region of Ghana where they sought hospital care for unsafe abortion related complications. Participants mentioned intimate partners as the main perpetrators of violence. Financial challenges were also identified as important in increasing women’s vulnerability to violence. Verbal abuse from health workers contributed to denying women access to safe abortion. This paper advances dialogue about the ways in which women’s experience of violence from intimate/non-intimate partners and healthcare workers impacts their overall abortion experience. It advocates the empowerment of women to enable them to leave violent relationships, and the retraining of health workers to enable them to adopt respectful and empathetic care practices.

National Wounds and Gendered Harm: Reframing Abortion Pain in The Worst of Times

In light of abortion’s recurrent political centrality in the United States, examining abortion narratives remains critically urgent. This article analyzes the abortion narratives found in the 1993 anthology The Worst of Times compiled by Patricia G. Miller, which collects individual stories of illegal abortions from the post–World War II years. It analyzes these narratives in the context of the postwar period’s growing sensational political fascination with abortion pain, alongside the second-wave feminist positioning of abortion as the paramount feminist issue and inherent basis of feminist community. Against these discourses, the semi-anonymous narrators of The Worst of Times disrupt hierarchized, universal, and exclusionary models of pain. Rather, this article argues that, in constructing life writing centered around the painful experience of illegal abortion, the narrators’ experiences cohere into relational clusters that evince commonalities while also maintaining differences. In engaging with their painful abortion experiences, these narratives reshape the medical, national, and feminist power structures that attempted to define the pain that abortion signified. In a moment when abortion legislation faces continued assaults, these narratives invite a consideration of how the embodied, personal pain of abortion can facilitate creative models of community that rethink the power structures that restrict reproductive autonomy.

Factors associated with suicidal ideation among puerperal women in the context of public health: integrative review

Objective: To synthesize scientific evidence about the factors associated with suicidal ideation in the puerperal period in the context of public health. Methods: Integrative review conducted by the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol, carried out in July 2022, in the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, Web of Science, Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences, Nursing Database, Spanish Bibliographic Index of Health Sciences, PsycINFO and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. Results: Seven studies were selected to compose this review. Factors associated with suicidal ideation in the puerperal period were younger, single, unemployed women, having an unemployed partner, having experienced intimate partner violence, having faced stressful events during pregnancy, previous experiences of abortion and marital dissatisfaction, depressive symptoms and other mental disorders (mood disorders, hypomanic symptoms, neuroticism and psychoticism). High self-esteem aimed to reduce ideas of suicide during the postpartum period. Being primigravid, having a harmonious relationship with the mother-in-law, and marital satisfaction were presented as protective factors. Conclusion: The synthesis of the studies showed the association of psychosocial, physiological and sociodemographic factors with suicidal ideation among puerperal women, as well as protective factors.

Experiences of Women With Medical Abortion Care Reflected in Social Media (VEILLE Study): Noninterventional Retrospective Exploratory Infodemiology Study.

Abortion (also known as termination of pregnancy) is an essential element of women's reproductive health care. Feedback from women who underwent medical termination of pregnancy about their experience is crucial to help practitioners identify women's needs and develop necessary tools to improve the abortion care process. However, the collection of this feedback is quite challenging. Social media offer anonymity for women who share their abortion experience. This exploratory infodemiology study aimed to analyze, through French social media posts, personal medical symptoms and the different experiences and information dynamics associated with the medical abortion process. A retrospective study was performed by analyzing posts geolocated in France and published from January 1, 2017, to November 30, 2021. Posts were extracted from all French-language general and specialized publicly available web forums using specific keywords. Extracted messages were cleaned and pseudonymized. Automatic natural language processing methods were used to identify posts from women having experienced medical abortion. Biterm topic modeling was used to identify the main discussion themes and the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities was used to identify medical terms. Encountered difficulties were explored using qualitative research methods until the saturation of concepts was reached. Analysis of 5398 identified posts (3409 users) led to the identification of 9 major topics: personal experience (n=2413 posts, 44.7%), community support (n=1058, 19.6%), pain and bleeding (n=797, 14.8%), psychological experience (n=760, 14.1%), questioned efficacy (n=410, 7.6%), social pressure (n=373, 6.9%), positive experiences (n=257, 4.8%), menstrual cycle disorders (n=107, 2%), and reported inefficacy (n=104, 1.9%). Pain, which was mentioned in 1627 (30.1%) of the 5398 posts by 1024 (30.0%) of the 3409 users, was the most frequently reported medical term. Pain was considered severe to unbearable in 24.5% of the cases (399 of the 1627 posts). Lack of information was the most frequently reported difficulty during and after the process. Our findings suggest that French women used social media to share their experiences, offer and find support, and provide and receive information regarding medical abortion. Infodemiology appears to be a useful tool to obtain women's feedback, therefore offering the opportunity to enhance care in women undergoing medical abortion.

How Patients Seeking Abortion in a Surge State Use Their Stories to Support Each Other [ID 2683411

INTRODUCTION: A changing legal landscape after Texas Senate Bill 8 and the Dobbs decision resulted in a surge of out-of-state patients accessing abortion care in New Mexico. In one health center, patients undergoing procedural abortion can write entries in a recovery room journal titled, “Tell your story; it may help someone else.” Journals were not developed for research but with the goal of invoking community. Patients can read and anonymously share their abortion experience. We analyzed the themes from journal entries to understand how patients share their experiences to foster community during a time of increasing restrictions. METHODS: We reviewed 74 anonymous narrative journal entries from a single health center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from 2020 to 2023, identifying overarching themes using inductive content. RESULTS: Journal entries described complex decisions and emotions. Themes included solidarity, autonomy, gratitude, and difficulty of accessing care. People invoked comradeship with words of encouragement and reassured others that restrictive abortion laws should not define their decisions or interfere with their autonomy. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the importance of patient storytelling in improving health outcomes. Developed with the goal of invoking community and shared experience for normalization of abortion care, these stories can help us understand how patients frame the context of their decision to help others. The challenges they present and real-time emotional processing help frame the complexity of this decision and the accessibility of abortion care during the time period of increasing restrictions on abortion care.