ISSUES
: Abortion
Chapter 1: Abortion facts
6
Abortion: what happens
If you’ve decided to have an abortion, here’s what you can expect.
I
f you are unable or do not wish
to continue with a pregnancy,
your GP or a doctor at a sexual
health clinic will refer you to a clinic
or hospital for an assessment. This
is also where an abortion can take
place. In some areas, you can go
straight to an independent abortion
clinic without being referred.
Your medical assessment
before abortion
The assessment will be the same if
you go directly to an independent
provider (such as the British
Pregnancy Advisory Service (bpas)
or Marie Stopes) without going to
your GP.
During the assessment you:
Ö
can discuss your reasons for
requesting an abortion and
how certain you are of that
decision
Ö
should be offered the chance
to discuss your situation with a
counsellor
Ö
can talk to a nurse or doctor
about the abortion methods
that are available
Ö
can discuss contraceptive
options to prevent a further
unplanned pregnancy
Ö
might be tested for sexually
transmitted infections (STIs)
and anaemia (low iron levels)
Ö
might be given an ultrasound
scan if there's doubt about
how many weeks pregnant you
are.
Independent providers, such as
Marie Stopes and bpas, have useful
information on the consultation
or assessment, counselling, and
medical and surgical abortion.
Will I have to stay in hospital
after an abortion?
It depends how many weeks
pregnant you are and which abortion
method is being used. Normally, you
can go home the same day. If the
abortion takes place after 20 weeks,
you’ll usually have to stay overnight.
What happens during an
abortion?
There are different kinds of abortion,
depending on how many weeks
pregnant you are. An abortion
service should be able to offer you a
choice of different kinds of abortion,
but this may not always be possible.
Medical abortion
A medical abortion involves taking
medication to end the pregnancy.
It doesn't require surgery or an
anaesthetic, and can be used at any
stage of pregnancy.
If you have a medical abortion, the
first drug you take is Mifepristone.
This stops the production of
hormones that allow the pregnancy
to continue.
Up to two days later, you will have
another appointment where you take
a second drug called Prostaglandin.
This will either be a tablet you take
by mouth, or a pessary put inside
your vagina. Prostaglandin causes
the lining of the uterus (womb) to
break down. This causes bleeding
and loss of the pregnancy about four
to six hours later. You may have to
stay at the clinic while this happens.
Medical abortion carried out up to
nine weeks of pregnancy is known
as early medical abortion. If a
medical abortion is carried out after
nine weeks, you may need a second
dose of Prostaglandin. If you have a
medical abortion between 13 and 24
weeks of pregnancy, you will usually
need to be in hospital or the clinic.
Surgical abortion
Surgical abortion involves having
a procedure under a local or
general anaesthetic. There are two
methods of surgical abortion:
“If you are unable or
do not wish to continue
with a pregnancy, your
GP or a doctor at a
sexual health clinic
will refer you to a
clinic or hospital for an
assessment”
