Background: Our study aimed to investigate the demographic
characteristics of patients who applied for legal curettage and the incidence of
depression in patients after the procedure. Methods: Our study
was carried out in Ortaca/Turkey in 2021–2022. It is a prospective
cross-sectional study. Our study was conducted on 35 patients. In our study, the
patients’ income level, education level, place of residence, family structure,
religious belief, and the reason for the legal eviction request were
investigated. It was investigated whether the patients were affected in their
work, private, social, and sexual life after the procedure. Post-procedure Beck
depression inventory (BDI) was applied to the patients and their spouses. The
incidence of post-procedure depression was investigated. SPSS Version 28.0.1
program was used for statistical analysis. Results: The mean age was
33.74 6.85 years. Reasons for termination of pregnancy: 5 patients for
not married, 5 patients because the child’s father is unknown, 1 patient due to
an extra-marital affair, 4 patients because they have fear of raising and caring
for children, 4 patients due to family planning error, 3 patients because they
have more than two children, 4 patients because they think they are too old to be
mothers, 5 patients due to financial difficulties, 1 patient did not want to be a
parent in any way, and 3 patients because they thought it was too early to have
children. The mean BDI score of the mothers before the procedure was 10.1143
0.637 and 19.457 1.722 after the procedure. A statistically
significant difference was found in the post-procedure BDI scores compared to the
pre-procedure (p = 0.00). The fathers’ pre-procedural BDI score was 6.28
1.12, the post-procedure BDI score was 7.25 1.14, and there was
no statistically significant difference in pre-and post-procedure BDI scores
(p = 0.956). The mean BDI score of the mothers was 19.45 1.72,
and the mean BDI score of the fathers was 7.25 1.14. BDI scores of the
mothers were statistically significantly higher than those of the fathers
(p = 0.00). Moderate depression in 37.1% of mothers and severe
depression in 20% were detected. In fathers, 5.7% moderate depression and 2.9%
severe depression were found. The frequency of moderate and severe depression in
mothers was statistically significant compared to fathers (p = 0.00).
The work-life of 57.1%, the social life of 45.7%, the private life of 71.4%,
and the sexual life of 82.9% of women who had a legal abortion were affected.
Conclusions: The incidence of depression after legal
medical termination of pregnancy is not to be underestimated. Precautions for
depression should be taken and followed in these patients.