Men who struggle emotionally after losing a child to abortion have suffered largely in silence. However, if this new study is any indication, that may be changing.
A Danish study published on May 1, 2024, in JAMA Network Open shows that first-time fathers of aborted babies with no prior history of psychiatric treatment experienced an increase in receiving psychological care.
Utilizing the Danish National Patient Register, researchers analyzed registered pregnancies with adverse pregnancy outcomes. They examined the records of 192,455 first-time fathers who experienced one of the following: induced abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth, a premature or full-term baby who was small for gestational age, or a child born with a minor or major congenital malformation.
I isolated the 8,221 fathers impacted by abortion and looked closer at its impact on them.
Of the total, 7,409 were fathers whose pregnancies were aborted at 12 weeks or less. Meanwhile, 812 were fathers who experienced late-term abortions at 13 weeks or later.
Fathers who experienced an induced abortion at 12 weeks or earlier:
- Were one-and-a-third times more likely to receive treatment, but without pharmaceutical prescriptions, and they were 80% more likely to have contact with a psychiatric hospital.
- Were 90% more likely to take antidepressants and 40% more likely to require anxiolytic (antianxiety) medication.
- Within one year after experiencing an early induced abortion, these fathers had a 74% increased risk of requiring hypnotics (sleep aids) and a 79% increased risk of taking anxiolytics.
Fathers who experienced a late-term abortion at 13 weeks or more:
- Were four times more likely to receive treatment without pharmaceutical intervention, and they were 60% more likely to have contact with a psychiatric hospital.
- Up to one year after, their risk of receiving nonpharmacological treatment increased by nearly four-and-a-half times.
The Men and Abortion Network (MAN) has developed a website exclusively for hurting fathers and those who want to help them.
The researchers believe that their findings of psychiatric symptoms among fathers of aborted children and other adverse pregnancy outcomes are underestimated. For example, fathers who experienced mild or more severe symptoms but did not seek treatment, or those who sought treatment but did not receive a prescription or referral to a specialist.
In summation, first-time fathers who experienced induced abortion “had an increased risk of initiating pharmacological and/or nonpharmacological psychiatric treatment.” They further concluded, “This highlights the necessity of increasing awareness regarding the psychological effects experienced by fathers after adverse pregnancy outcomes and the need for more robust support systems.”
This study helps put hurting fathers who’ve lost a child(ren) to abortion on the radar of the medical community. I pray this builds momentum for opening the minds and hearts of medical and psychological professionals to consider the long-overlooked reality that men hurt too.
For Dads Everywhere,
Brad Mattes,
President, Life Issues Institute
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