[Reasons and meanings attributed by women who experienced induced abortion: an integrative review].

Objective: Identifying the contribution of developed research on what motivates women to induce an abortion and the meaning attributed to these experiences in their lives.

Method: An integrative review conducted in MEDLINE/PubMed, LILACS, BDENF, CINAHL and SciELO databases, covering the periods from 2001 to 2011.

Results: We selected and analyzed 11 studies with selection criteria being reasons given by women for inducing abortion and/or the meaning attributed to this experience in their lives, including social, religious, ethical and moral aspects related to this practice, as well as the suffering experienced from the experience.