Have you had an abortion? Do you feel differently than you thought you might feel after an abortion? How you feel after an abortion should not be treated like a “political” or a “religious” issue perhaps making you feel judged or miserable. We want to address you as a whole person with a unique set of experiences and a very individual response to your past abortion(s).

Often women may feel a very strong sense of relief following the abortion knowing that the pregnancy is over. However, sometimes a woman experiences confusing thoughts and emotions after that sense of relief and sometimes it can take 5, 10, or even 20 years to come to the surface. The following sypmtoms of after-abortion greif are listed below.

	• Guilt	• Regret
	• Remorse	• Shame
	• Low self-esteem	• Insomnia, dreams & nightmares
	• Anxiety	• Psychological numbing
	• Depression -- thoughts of suicide	• Re-experiencing the abortion
	• Anniversary syndrome	• Preoccupation with becoming pregnant again
	• Anxiety over fertility issues	• Development of eating disorders
	• Survival guilt	• Hard to bond with present or future children
	• Alcohol and drug abuse	• Hostility toward men, even a husband