Average pain scores were lower 15 minutes after a medically indicated termination than during the procedure in a study of 55 women. The reported mean was 8.96, with a standard deviation of 1.08, during the procedure and 4.81, with a standard deviation of 1.59, afterward; the difference met the study’s threshold for statistical significance.
The study’s stated aim was to assess anxiety before and after medical termination, pain during and after the procedure, and comfort afterward.
The result is an immediate before-and-after comparison, not evidence that the procedure itself caused pain to fall. The research was cross-sectional and descriptive, and the authors said its single-center setting and lack of repeated measurements limited what it could show about wider populations and changes over time.
The emotional picture was mixed.
Before the procedure, mean trait anxiety was 47.34 and was classified as high. Mean state anxiety was classified as mild both before and after the procedure, with scores of 37.85 and 36.18, respectively. The difference in state anxiety was statistically significant.
Comfort was moderate, with several associated factors.
Before discharge, the mean post-procedural comfort score was 92.52, which the researchers classified as moderate. That score is a snapshot of comfort before discharge, not a measure of how comfort changed from before the procedure.
The researchers also used multiple linear regression, a statistical model that examines how several measured factors relate to one outcome. The model was statistically significant and explained 34% of the variation in comfort scores. Post-procedural pain at 15 minutes, the indication for termination and the reported need for psychological support were listed as significant statistical predictors.
The regression describes relationships within this sample, not proof that pain, the reason for termination or psychological-support needs caused a particular comfort level.
The study took a narrow snapshot.
The participants were women aged 18 to 49 admitted to a city hospital in Turkey between April and December 2024. Eligibility required medically indicated termination before 18 weeks of gestation, with no communication difficulties, psychiatric disorders or psychiatric medication use.
Before the procedure, participants completed a personal-information form and anxiety measures. Pain was recorded during the procedure and again 15 to 20 minutes later; state anxiety and comfort were assessed before discharge. All participants received standard cervical-dilation and analgesia protocols.
The analysis used a dependent-samples t-test for before-and-after comparisons and multiple linear regression for comfort. The researchers checked the data’s distribution, used IBM SPSS Statistics 21.0 and set statistical significance at a p-value below 0.05.
The results have clear limits.
Because the study was conducted at one center and did not repeatedly measure participants, it cannot show whether the pattern would hold in other hospitals or over longer follow-up.
Ethical approval was recorded under approval number 135-41 on July 14, 2023, and written consent was obtained in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The paper reports no funding, and the authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Paper data and sources
Original title: Pain, anxiety, and comfort among women undergoing medical termination
Authors: Yikar S, Sönmez M, Adigüzel F, Nazik E
Journal/Repository: Revista da Associacao Medica Brasileira (1992)
Status: Peer-reviewed
First online: 2026-10-19
DOI: Not available
Original paper · Full text