Abortions and Low Birth Weight Linked

A study published yesterday in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (JECH) reports that abortions increase the risk of low birth weight in future pregnancies by a factor of three, and of premature birth by a factor of two. Though the data contained in the study is 40 years old (I wonder why it didn't see the light of day sooner), it is the most thorough and conclusive U.S. study of its kind. According to Time:

The study not only found a link between abortion or miscarriage and low birth weight, but it also found that the risk appears to increase with every subsequent miscarriage or abortion. The accruing risk, says co-author Tilahun Adera at Virginia Commonwealth University, suggests that termination of pregnancy is a true cause of low birth weight and preterm birth rather than a variable associated with such conditions. "It's not just an association," he says. "The risk of premature birth increases with the increasing number of abortions."

Women who had had one, two or three prior abortions or miscarriages were three, five and nine times more likely, respectively, to have a low-birth-weight child, the data showed.

The last two paragraphs of the article seek to discredit the findings of the report because of their age. However, Adera believes the word should get out:

Indeed, the public-health implications of the JECH study may be more suitable for developing countries, says Adera -- places where abortion is still illegal, and where prenatal care may be similar to what was offered in the U.S. half a century ago. Still, he says, all over the world, "Women need to be informed about these risks."

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The study not only found a link between abortion or miscarriage and low birth weight, but it also found that the risk appears to increase with every subsequent miscarriage or abortion. The accruing risk, says co-author Tilahun Adera at Virginia Commonwealth University, suggests that termination of pregnancy is a true cause of low birth weight and preterm birth rather than a variable associated with such conditions. "It's not just an association," he says. "The risk of premature birth increases with the increasing number of abortions."

Women who had had one, two or three prior abortions or miscarriages were three, five and nine times more likely, respectively, to have a low-birth-weight child, the data showed.

The last two paragraphs of the article seek to discredit the findings of the report because of their age. However, Adera believes the word should get out:

Indeed, the public-health implications of the JECH study may be more suitable for developing countries, says Adera -- places where abortion is still illegal, and where prenatal care may be similar to what was offered in the U.S. half a century ago. Still, he says, all over the world, "Women need to be informed about these risks."

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1. P&P said the following at 2:32 PM on Dec 19:

"Back in the '60s, induced abortions were illegal in the U.S. It's possible that some women in the study had abortions but denied it — even to their doctors — or claimed to have miscarried. That makes the data harder to interpret. Illegal abortion techniques of the day, moreover, were no doubt cruder than abortion procedures today, and they may have caused more permanent damage to the reproductive system."

I think this speaks more to the procedure, which was normally crude and performed under unsanitary circumstances, rather than the abortion itself. As a result, when a woman has an abortion in a country where it's illegal, she has a very high possibility of problems from the care she receives. It sounds more like a reason to keep it safe, legal and rare, rather than another piece of propaganda.

2. Louise said the following at 2:57 PM on Dec 19:

So...(hopefully this will make it through the filter) would one of the recommendations from this study be that women who have suffered multiple miscarriages should stop trying to have children?

Low birth weight, after all, can cause infant health problems.

3. Stanhope said the following at 10:26 PM on Dec 19:

If the headline here aligned with the content, the headline would include the word 'Miscarriage'.

4. Robert J Espe said the following at 8:01 AM on Dec 20:

The fact that the study could mix abortion and miscarriage and get consistent results shows it doesn't matter which is which, even a "safe" legal abortion causes the same damage as a miscarriage (increased risk of future low birth weight). The silly statement the reporter made that yesterday's methods were "undoubtedly" more crude than todays didn't do his homework. They weren't. We don't really have any fancy "new" techniques, the most popular today is shoving a pliers into a woman and ripping the baby out in chunks, and that isn't that refined, and causes plenty of harm to the woman's body.

This study isn't really landmark either. I have heard similar (and more recent) studies cited before now.

5. Suzanne said the following at 9:22 AM on Dec 20:

The distinction I see here is that you have a choice whether or not to jeopardize your future pregnancies through abortion; miscarriage is outside your control.

6. Beth L. said the following at 10:04 AM on Dec 20:

Louise-

I would say yes. But I would have made that recommendation before I saw this study, because of the emotional & relational strain that a woman suffers from multiple miscarriages.

7. John said the following at 2:34 PM on Dec 24:

Funny, liberals want to kill innocent defenseless humans (babies and the elderly), but want convicted criminals (rapists, child molesters, and murderers) to have the precious gift of life.

"Let’s make murder safe, legal and rare, because murder should not be unsafe, illegal and frequent."

8. Andrew R. (aka Canadian Boy) said the following at 10:22 AM on Dec 27:

Interesting. After me and my brother were born, my mother miscarried. Then my sister was born, and she had a higher birth weight than me and my brother. Guess she got lucky.