Does Induced Abortion Affect the Experience of Maternity Services?

Objectives: We assessed how maternity health clinic (MHC) services are perceived and experienced by special subgroups, using mothers with prior induced abortions (IAs) as an example, and evaluated the need for extra support in these groups with regard to the amount and content of MHC services. Methods: Altogether, 680 first-time mothers, 67 (9.9%) of whom underwent IA(s), participated in this questionnaire-based study. The fathers-to-be also completed questionnaires. Results: The abortion and control group parents had similar expectations and experiences of the MHC services overall. However, the expectations were rated higher than the experiences in both groups. Statistical significance appeared in the detailed questions in 3 items in which the non-IA mothers reported greater expectations of certain services in maternity care than the IA mothers. The IA mothers had better experiences/fulfilled expectations in obtaining support for overweight problems, counselling via the Internet, and information regarding specialist services when compared with the non-IA mothers. The IA fathers reported better experiences in health-promoting areas and in the availability of the specialist services, and they were more satisfied with obtaining concrete help for daily problems and in father groups than the non-IA fathers. Conclusions: All of the study groups seemed to expect more from the services than they reported that they had received. The specific needs for the amount and content of the MHC services in a special subgroup of mothers could not be detected in this study, indicating that the current MHC system may already have a diverse and equal approach to all mothers.