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Abortion is when someone sometimes chooses to end a pregnancy because they don’t want to have a baby. It is sometimes called ‘termination’.
People choose to end a pregnancy for lots of reasons. It might be because they don’t want children, or aren’t financially able to support a child. It might also be because it would be medically unsafe for them to have a baby. Whatever someone’s reasons are for having an abortion, it is their choice and their right to do so.
Read our page on if an abortion is right for you.
Abortion is a very safe procedure, and on average it is much safer than continuing with the pregnancy and giving birth. The earlier an abortion is carried out, the safer it is, too. But like any other medical procedure, it has a risk attached to it. The doctor or nurse who is advising you should always provide information about the potential risks before you go ahead.
There are two ways of ending an unwanted pregnancy; a medical abortion (which involves taking medicines) or a surgical abortion (which requires a surgical procedure).
The type of abortion you can have depends on several factors but you should always be able to choose the method you would prefer as long as it suits your medical needs. The doctor or nurse advising you will tell you which methods are suitable based on your medical history, how many weeks the pregnancy is and whether you prefer to be awake or asleep for the procedure.
Early medical abortion can involve two visits to a clinic and is performed in the first ten weeks of pregnancy. It is sometimes known as the ‘abortion pill’.
This method involves taking two medicines which end a pregnancy. It’s not the same as emergency contraception, which can be taken to try to prevent pregnancy from happening in the first few days after unprotected sex.
The first medication you will be given is mifepristone, which ends the pregnancy. The second medication is misoprostol and can be given at the same time as the first medication or you will return to the clinic between 1 to 3 days later. Your doctor or nurse will inform you whether you need to come back for the second medication. The second medication causes your womb to expel the pregnancy through cramping and bleeding and this usually takes between 4 and 6 hours but sometimes longer. You will be offered pain relief and you should be able to go home the same day.
You will have cramps and bleeding and are likely to spot blood for up to fours weeks following the abortion.
Read this guide from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) for more information on medical abortion.
Abortions given between 10 and 15 weeks are called vacuum aspiration, also known as the ‘suction method’.
For this procedure either a general (asleep) or local (awake) anaesthetic would be given. The procedure only takes about 5-10 minutes and there is no wound or stitches.
The cervix (the entrance to the womb at the top of the vagina) is gently stretched to allow a thin tube to pass through it into the womb. Once the tube is inserted the pregnancy is removed by suction. Most people only take an hour or so to recover and go home the same day.
Read this guide from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) for more information on surgical abortion.
Abortion after 15 weeks is less common and most abortions happen in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy. However, sometimes people need to have an abortion later on in pregnancy. They might find that they need to travel out of their local area to do so, as abortion after 15 weeks is not always as easy to access. Again, it’s important to talk to a doctor as soon as possible.
The exact procedure offered to you will be explained by a doctor or nurse before the abortion goes ahead. Here are the procedures that you may undergo:
Read this guide from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) for more information on surgical dilation and evacuation.
There are risks with any medical or surgical procedure and your doctor or nurse should explain them clearly to you before you go ahead with an abortion. Each procedure has a different set of risks and you should be given written information about those risks.
After an abortion, there is a small risk of infection. You may be given antibiotics after an abortion to stop infections. The symptoms of infection include pain in your pelvic area (like extra bad period pains), and heavy bleeding from your vagina.
Find out about the process of having an abortion.
Find out about accessing abortion services.
Brook services do not perform abortions but we do provide emergency contraception, pregnancy tests and abortion referrals. This means that Brook can provide you with emergency contraception, pregnancy tests, and if you are pregnant and want to end the pregnancy – we can refer and support you into other services near you that provide abortions.
If you would like more help or advice about abortion you can:
If you need help quickly you can contact these organisations:
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