Early Options: Issues and Challenges of Abortion Counseling

Early Options - A Provider's Guide to Medical Abortion

This page contains the following sections:

Handling an Emotionally Charged Topic
Time Requirements

Open communication and trust are essential aspects of patient-centered health care. These attributes are especially important in abortion counseling, which involves discussions of emotionally and physically intimate subjects. The satisfaction of patient and provider with abortion services are interrelated; neither will feel comfortable if the other has a negative experience. Clinicians can take the initiative to enhance their own experience by recognizing and addressing challenging aspects of providing abortion care.

After reading this page, you should be able to answer the following question:
What is the goal of abortion counseling?

Handling an Emotionally Charged Topic
The decision to terminate a pregnancy can provoke intense emotions. Clinicians offering medical abortion can help provide a safe outlet for their patients' self-expression by not shying away from the patients' displays of emotion. This can be challenging, as some women may misdirect feelings of anger or anxiety at the provider.

Viewing the situation from the patient's perspective is an important first step in helping women maintain a sense of control and comfort.⁶ The provider should also strive not to take patients' comments personally.

Because of personal issues and societal pressures related to abortion, health care providers may harbor certain prejudices about this service. Acknowledging and exploring one's own thoughts, feelings, and attitudes is crucial for anyone who will be counseling abortion patients. This process, often described as "values clarification," is designed to foster greater self-awareness and nonjudgmental counseling.^7,8

Time Requirements
Abortion counseling should never seem hurried; adequate discussions of pregnancy options and abortion methods take time. Each patient who opts for abortion is entitled to receive a clear and thorough explanation of the medical and emotional issues that may arise during the procedure.

The time invested in the counseling process can have a positive impact on outcomes, as the process of selecting the best abortion method with a patient can enhance compliance with the steps required for the procedure.⁶ Additionally, many providers report that time spent in counseling women about the expected side effects and the normal course of a medical abortion can decrease the number of calls from women seeking reassurance.

Click here to check your understanding.

Proceed to Challenges Specific to Medical Abortion Counseling.

References for this module