HOW CAN THE DOCTOR WITH PSYCHOSEXUAL TRAINING HELP? (INSTANCE)
Miss J., aged 19, was 17 weeks pregnant. This would be her second abortion. She was very ambivalent about whether she wanted to have a baby or continue with her free, youthful life of going out whenever she felt like it and spending her wages on clothes. She revealed that she had had a lot of physical pain after her previous abortion but denied any emotional pain. She looked away much of the time and conversation was difficult. As the doctor palpated her now large uterus, she said, ‘That’s my baby. I can take him for walks in the park.’
This young woman was not very articulate. Her pain over her last abortion had been expressed in physical symptoms and only a physical examination enabled her to get in touch with her deepest feelings about this pregnancy.
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