Unplanned pregnancy

There are a number of organisations that can provide expert, confidential and impartial advice and counselling if you find yourself facing this situation. They can help you consider the options and they should not pressurise you into making any particular decision.

Not all organisations are able to help with abortion, or adoption – check out the nature of the orgaisation first, if you are in any doubt.

Adoption

If you decide you're not in the position to raise your own child but don't want to terminate the pregnancy, you may want to consider adoption.

You’ll need to discuss things with your family, a counsellor and a social worker or adoption agency. You need to be aware of your rights and responsibilities and think carefully about what will happen during your pregnancy and afterwards.

Potential parents are scrutinised and great care is taken in placing children with the right family. If you decide to go ahead with adoption, the adopted parents will then have legal responsibility for the baby, though increasingly these days there are ways to maintain some sort of contact between biological parents and their children.

After the adoption, it’s normal to feel a mixture of guilt, loss and grief, even if you've thought long and hard before making your decision and are certain you've made the right choice. It's important that you don't ignore these feelings. Several adoption organisations offer counselling for you after the adoption, and you can also contact the support charity After Adoption which specialises in this.

You can call the British Association for Adoption & Fostering for further information.

Termination

Terminating (aborting) a pregnancy isn't an easy decision for anyone. If you're considering abortion, the first step is to make an appointment with your GP to discuss your thoughts. Your GP can refer you to a clinic for an assessment. Alternatively, you can see a clinic direct youself.

The UK law is that two doctors have to agree to the termination, under the provisions of the Abortion Act.

It can only be carried out up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, except in exceptional cases where the mother's life is at risk or there's a real risk that the child would have a severe physical or mental disability. In such cases, there is no legal time limit.

Abortion is a relatively safe procedure when done by trained professionals. It can be done in several ways, using drug and/or surgical treatments. Termination in early pregnancy is almost always carried out with the use of drugs, and outside hospital.

After the procedure, it’s normal to feel a mixture of guilt, loss or grief, so make sure you have someone to talk to.