Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40444799›Full record

ArticlePerspectives on sexual and reproductive health2025

Have Others Had This Experience? A Qualitative Analysis of Posts on Self-Managed Abortion to US-Based Reddit Community.

Karen Weidert, Elizabeth Pleasants, Lindsay Parham, Eliza Dolgins, Emma Anderson, Ndola Prata

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Perspectives on sexual and reproductive health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Karen WeidertUniversity of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health, Berkeley, California, USA.
Elizabeth PleasantsUniversity of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health, Berkeley, California, USA.
Lindsay ParhamUniversity of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health, Berkeley, California, USA.
Eliza DolginsUniversity of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health, Berkeley, California, USA.
Emma AndersonUniversity of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health, Berkeley, California, USA.
Ndola PrataUniversity of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health, Berkeley, California, USA.

Funding

Society of Family Planning, Emerging Scholars in Family Planning SFPRF16-ES9The Bixby Center for Population, Health and Sustainability and the Wallace Center for Maternal, Child, Adolescent Health (MCAH) Research at the University of California, Berkeley
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesLimiting abortion within the formal health care system is associated with more self-managed abortion (SMA). Reddit is a publicly available social networking site that allows users to create and join communities ("subreddits") around a specific topic. R/abortion is a subreddit dedicated to providing support and advice to people seeking or having an abortion. The purpose of this study is to analyze r/abortion data after the Dobbs leak in 2022 to explore SMA access and use experiences shared in the community.

methodsWe employed a hybrid qualitative thematic analysis approach to describe experiences, concerns, and questions related to SMA as shared in posts from r/abortion. A simple random sample of 10% of posts was obtained from those shared from May 2, 2022 through December 23, 2022 (n = 523).

resultsAmong the analyzed posts, 111 described experiences with SMA. Four themes emerged during the analysis. First, some posters noted concerns and questions related to online ordering and receiving mailed medication abortion, including shipping delays, cost, and discreet packaging. The second theme was related to concerns and questions about the SMA process, such as when and how to take medication, bleeding amount, and abortion completion. The final two themes were related to seeking support/advice for SMA and sharing SMA experiences, with community members seeking and sharing support to combat isolation while self-managing. DISCUSSION: R/abortion is an important resource for some people self-managing abortions. This study provided key insights into areas that are commonly discussed, which can inform the provision of practical support for SMA.

Indexed as

Abortion, InducedSelf-ManagementSocial MediaSocial NetworkingFemaleHumansPregnancyQualitative ResearchUnited Statesabortionmedication abortionqualitative research methodsunited states

Identifiers

PMID40444799
PMCPMC12204129

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.