There is no credible evidence that choosing to terminate an unwanted first pregnancy puts women at higher risk of subsequent depression, concludes a new study.

In fact, abortion may be linked to a lower risk of depression, the authors suggest, through beneficial effects on education, income and family size.

More Education, Smaller Families

The study involved 1,247 US women who had unwanted first pregnancies between 1970 and 1992. The women were interviewed over several years to examine the relation between pregnancy outcome and later depression.

Terminating an unwanted first pregnancy, versus delivering, was not directly related to risk of depression. In fact, the women who delivered before 1980 had a significantly higher risk of depression than all other groups.

The abortion group also had a significantly higher mean education and income and lower total family size -- all of which are associated with a lower risk of depression.

Effect of Unwanted Childbearing

These results cannot be explained by underreporting of abortion, say the authors, because findings did not vary in groups known to vary in underreporting.

Furthermore, women with higher depression scores were more willing to provide confidential abortion card information.

Despite some study limitations, they conclude that there is no credible evidence that choosing to terminate an unwanted first pregnancy puts women at higher risk of subsequent depression.

If the goal is to reduce women's risk for depression, research should focus on how to prevent and ameliorate the effect of unwanted childbearing, the authors suggest, particularly for younger women.