Depression, anxiety prevalent in women with history of abortion living in Bangladesh's urban slums: Study

Depressive symptoms and anxiety is prevalent among women with a history of spontaneous abortion or miscarriages living in the urban slums of Dhaka, according to a recent study. 

The study conducted by the Bangladesh Medical College, published on Tuesday (4 July), analysed 240 women who experienced a spontaneous abortion from July 2020 to December 2021.

Of the 240 women, the majority of them, around 77.5%, experienced depressive symptoms and more than half, 58.75%, of the respondents experienced anxiety, within one-and-half years of experiencing spontaneous abortion, reads the report.

Spontaneous abortion, also called a miscarriage, is considered a poor Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) outcome with higher consequences.

Besides, the report underlined that a higher level of education and being employed were protective factors for these symptoms, respectively. 

Although women with higher sexual and reproductive health rights knowledge had significantly increased anxiety and depressive symptoms, the analysis furthered. 

However, receiving post-abortion care was associated with decreased symptoms. 

Globally, major emphasis has been placed on understanding the physiological consequences of losing a pregnancy. However, its mental health impact on socially-disadvantaged women remains unexplored. 

The report findings indicate that ensuring access to affordable post-abortion care services and integrating mental health services into the standard service package is crucial. 

This study also emphasised providing education for women living in urban slums and encouraging them to participate in economic activities.

This cross-sectional study was conducted among married women living in selected informal urban settlements and communities of Dhaka north and south city corporations and Gazipur City Corporation.

The average age of all participants was around 26 years. Participants were mostly unemployed in both of the mental health outcomes in general. More than half of the women lived in poor households.