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Coping with an unplanned pregnancy
continued from page 2
Requesting an abortion
If you decide to have a termination, you will need to see your doctor as soon as possible. Most abortions take place between the tenth and twelfth week of pregnancy.
Although a termination can be performed up until the twenty-fourth week of pregnancy (or beyond if a disability is diagnosed), this is getting very close to the time when a foetus is capable of surviving on its own with appropriate intensive neonatal care. For ethical reasons, some doctors prefer not to carry out terminations at this stage, and some will not carry out the procedure if you are more than twelve weeks pregnant.
Abortion procedures
In some cases you may be offered a medical termination that does not involve surgery. You will be given a tablet called Mifepristone, which works by blocking the action of the pregnancy hormone, progesterone. After taking the Mifepristone, a vaginal pessary that softens the cervix will be inserted 36-48 hours later, and a 'spontaneous' miscarriage will usually follow. Medical abortion only fails once in a hundred pregnancies.
A surgical termination of pregnancy is carried out under general anaesthetic. A pessary may be inserted beforehand to help soften the cervix and make the procedure easier. The surgeon will then dilate the cervix and gently insert a suction device to remove the foetal matter.
What are the risks?
It is important to know that any surgical procedure involving the womb does carry a small risk of complications, such as infection, perforation or damage to the cervix, although it is rare for a previous termination of pregnancy to affect future fertility.
Research involving over 9,000 women has found no difference in fertility rates between those who had previously had a termination, compared with those who had not. Very rarely, heavy bleeding may occur which cannot be stopped. The surgeon may then be forced to carry out a hysterectomy to stop a life-threatening haemorrhage.
Antibiotics are usually given to cover the termination and reduce the chance of infection. If your blood group is Rhesus negative you will be given an injection of anti-D at the time of your operation. This will help to prevent you making anti-Rhesus antibodies (if the foetus is Rhesus positive), which might affect a future pregnancy.
Requesting an abortion
If you decide to have a termination, you will need to see your doctor as soon as possible. Most abortions take place between the tenth and twelfth week of pregnancy.
Although a termination can be performed up until the twenty-fourth week of pregnancy (or beyond if a disability is diagnosed), this is getting very close to the time when a foetus is capable of surviving on its own with appropriate intensive neonatal care. For ethical reasons, some doctors prefer not to carry out terminations at this stage, and some will not carry out the procedure if you are more than twelve weeks pregnant.
Abortion procedures
In some cases you may be offered a medical termination that does not involve surgery. You will be given a tablet called Mifepristone, which works by blocking the action of the pregnancy hormone, progesterone. After taking the Mifepristone, a vaginal pessary that softens the cervix will be inserted 36-48 hours later, and a 'spontaneous' miscarriage will usually follow. Medical abortion only fails once in a hundred pregnancies.
A surgical termination of pregnancy is carried out under general anaesthetic. A pessary may be inserted beforehand to help soften the cervix and make the procedure easier. The surgeon will then dilate the cervix and gently insert a suction device to remove the foetal matter.
What are the risks?
It is important to know that any surgical procedure involving the womb does carry a small risk of complications, such as infection, perforation or damage to the cervix, although it is rare for a previous termination of pregnancy to affect future fertility.
Research involving over 9,000 women has found no difference in fertility rates between those who had previously had a termination, compared with those who had not. Very rarely, heavy bleeding may occur which cannot be stopped. The surgeon may then be forced to carry out a hysterectomy to stop a life-threatening haemorrhage.
Antibiotics are usually given to cover the termination and reduce the chance of infection. If your blood group is Rhesus negative you will be given an injection of anti-D at the time of your operation. This will help to prevent you making anti-Rhesus antibodies (if the foetus is Rhesus positive), which might affect a future pregnancy.
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Created: 04/11/2003 Updated: 10/10/2007
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