...|. About Us ..|.. Post Abortion Syndrome ..|.. Healing..|.. Contact Us. |.
.

Photographs used on this site are of models,
not actual participants in the ARA program.

Post Abortion Syndrome

PAS - What is it?

Post Abortion Syndrome is a type of post-traumatic stress disorder that occurs due to choosing to have an abortion. The whole experience - from the procedure itself to living with the grief, regret, and pain is usually very traumatic. Many times individuals try to deny or suppress any pain that may appear. They may not even see their struggles as abortion related. However memories do surface and it is in these moments that the severe pain of PAS is revealed and their loss can no longer be denied.

Post Abortion Syndrome symptoms will not always appear at the same time. Most women won't experience all of them. Some symptoms may begin immediately after the abortion, while others appear much later. If you (or someone you know) are experiencing PAS, you will be able to identify at least three of the following symptoms.

Possible Symptoms of Post Abortion Syndrome

• Guilt - anguish over breaking her own moral code, regret, remorse
• Nightmares - dreams involving babies in general, the aborted baby, lost, dismembered, or crying babies
• Anxiety - unpleasant mental and physical state, apprehension, tension, usually resulting in headaches, worry, difficulty in concentrating and disturbed sleep
• Anniversary Syndrome - an increase of symptoms around the time of the anniversary of the abortion and/or due date of the aborted baby
• Depression/Thoughts of Suicide - sadness; sudden uncontrollable episodes of crying; feeling unable to function as "normal," sleep, exercise, and sexual disturbances - usually insomnia, loss of appetite and/or reduced sex drive; reduced motivation for the activities of life; disruption of relationships, especially with husband/boyfriend if they were part of the abortion decision; thoughts of suicide or preoccupation with death (33 percent of post abortion women surveyed had been so depressed at some point that they wanted death)
• Psychological Numbing - keeping emotions in tight check to avoid feeling the pain, hampers their ability to form and maintain close relationships, sometimes feel as though their life is happening to another person
• Flashbacks - sudden distressing experiencing of the abortion, usually caused by a situation similar to some part of the abortion.
• Preoccupation with becoming pregnant - for a replacement baby within the first year
• Eating Disorders - anorexia or bulimia
• Alcohol/ Drug Abuse - way of coping with the pain of abortion
• Problem Relationships With Present/Future Children - fear of another devastating loss may cause lack of true bonding; tries to become the world's most perfect Mom; may become overly protective
• Infertility/Childbearing Anxiety - fear that they will never become pregnant and/or have healthy children
• Self-punishing/Self-destructive Behaviors - enter into abusive relationships, become promiscuous, fail to take care of herself medically or deliberately harm herself emotionally and/or physically


This is by no means a complete list, but these occur most frequently.