Background: How a young woman approaches an abortion

and how she handles its emotional impact is influenced by

many factors. Mixed emotions about

terminating a pregnancy are common to women of all

backgrounds and circumstances. Aim: To illuminate young

women´s experiences of abortions. Method: The study was

based on literature from online databases and printed

materials and involved the analysis of ten articles and one thesis.

Result: Women contemplating abortion experience mixed

emotions before, during, and after an abortion. Despite mixed

or conflicting feelings of guilt, grief, and shame, in addition to

relief, most women do not regret having an abortion. A woman’s

ability to accept the experience, and her feelings about it, is

affected by the support and understanding of her family,

friends and health care staff. Conclusion: Further studies in this

field are requested in order to gain additional knowledge and

increase nurses understanding on how to treat women who have

an abortion.