Born Unwanted : The 35 Year Prague Study

Initiated in 1970, The Prague Study followed 220 children born in 1961-1963 to women twice denied abortion for the same pregnancy in Prague (Czech Republic) and 220 pair-matched controls, whose mothers were pair -matched for age and socioeconomic status and the husband’s or partner’s presence in the home. All the children were born into complete homes. They were medically, psychologically, and socially assessed at ages 9, 14-16, 21-23, 30, and 35. Although differences in psychosocial development between the unwanted study participants and pair-matched controls were not dramatic and changed over time, the differences were consistently in disfavor of the unwanted pregnancy participants. For a more rigorous analysis of the unwanted pregnancy “risk factor’” hypothesis and to control previously unmeasured potential “confounders” (e.g., family characteristics), siblings of all the study participants were included in assessments at ages 30 and 35. When siblings were used as controls the findings support the hypothesis that being born from an unwanted pregnancy is a risk factor for poor mental health in adulthood. Although the Prague Study is unique and cannot be readily replicated, the culturally validated instruments, rigorous matching process, and inclusion of siblings lend credibility to the findings and invite further research in view of their possible public policy implications. One of the long-held beliefs among mental health professionals is that being born unwanted carries the risk of negative psychosocial development. Although there has been much discussion of the dynamics of intended and unintended conceptions, and of wanted and unwanted pregnancies and subsequent voluntary or involuntary child rearing, it has seldom been possible to conduct follow-up studies from childhood to adulthood of children unwanted at conception or during early pregnancy. Most often, prevailing legislation and/or the absence of national population registers have made very unlikely even the prospect of organizing follow-up or pair-matched control studies.