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Common Signs of Post Abortion Trauma

sombre women standing in a row

Common signs of post abortion trauma include:

  • Bouts of crying

  • Depression

  • Guilt

  • Inability to forgive yourself

  • Intense grief/ sadness

  • Anger/ rage

  • Emotional numbness

  • Sexual problems or promiscuity

  • Eating disorders

  • Lowered self-esteem

  • Drug and alcohol abuse

  • Nightmares and sleep disturbances

  • Suicidal urges

  • Difficulty with relationships

  • Anxiety and panic attacks

  • Flashbacks

  • Multiple abortions

  • Pattern of repeat crisis pregnancy

  • Discomfort around babies or pregnant women

  • Fear/ ambivalence of pregnancy

Are you or is someone you love experiencing Post Abortion Trauma?

You don't need to navigate this alone. Our trained team is here to provide the care and support you need.

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Stories of Freedom

After my retreat, through training, I became a Rachel’s Vineyard team member. I pray that bringing my own experience to the retreats helps others by giving them a sense of comfort that I know first-hand the pain that they have been living with. Our stories are always different. But the pain, regret, tears, shame and loss are shared. Some have buried their guilt for a short time. Many others for decades.

One day I came across a Rachel’s Vineyard brochure in the back of a church and I attended the retreat. The retreat provided an atmosphere of confidentiality and non-judgment. I was finally able to bring myself to seek God’s forgiveness through the sacrament of reconciliation. I was able to forgive the father of my aborted child and, more importantly, I was able to forgive myself.

I am a post-abortive woman. I was twenty years old. I didn’t want to have an abortion, and the father of my aborted child had to take me twice because I walked out the first time. I remember trying to fill out the form and I couldn’t stop crying. Unfortunately, I went through with it the second time that he brought me there after telling me, “do not to come back still pregnant this time”.

The next twenty years would prove to be the darkest days of my life. Trigger dates, such as the date of my abortion or the day that should have been my child’s birthday, December 8th, proved to be the hardest days to get through every year.

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