Unplanned pregnancy The shock of an unintended pregnancy can leave you feeling scared and lost, even if you're in a steady relationship. This is a time when you need all the support you can get.

In this article

Adoption

Abortion

Psychological support

There are lots of organisations that can provide expert, confidential and impartial advice and counselling if you find yourself facing an unplanned pregnancy. They can help you to consider the options and will support you once you've decided what is right for you.

They offer advice about everything, from where and how to seek help if you choose to continue with the pregnancy, to details of adoption agencies and abortion clinics.

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.

Before making a decision, it's important you're aware of all the facts. You'll be advised 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.

There's a large demand for adoptive children, especially babies

There's a large demand for adoptive children, especially babies, through a variety of charities or local social services. Potential parents are scrutinised and great care is taken in placing these babies with the right family. If you decide to go ahead with adoption, the adopted parents will then have legal responsibility for the baby.

After you've had your baby adopted, you're likely to feel very emotional. 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 and support.

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

Terminating a pregnancy isn't an easy decision for anyone

Terminating 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. If your GP agrees with your decision, you'll be referred to a clinic for an assessment.

The decision to have an abortion is rarely taken lightly. If you're referred to a clinic, they'll want to be sure that it's in your - or the baby's - best interests, and two doctors will have to agree on this.

In the UK, abortion is only legal if performed under the strict criteria and guidelines of the Abortion Act, laid down to protect the welfare of the mother and the unborn child.

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. The following is based on timings as recommended by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Drug treatments:

• Up to nine weeks - using a medicine called mifepristone (the abortion pill) is one of the simplest methods to achieve an abortion early in the pregnancy. This is known as an early medical abortion. Initially, you take tablets of mifepristone, which block the hormones that help a pregnancy to continue. Then, 36 to 48 hours later, you'll be given a prostaglandin-type drug (either as tablets or as vaginal pessaries), which makes your womb expel the pregnancy, usually within four to six hours. Most women do not need to stay in hospital for an early medical abortion.
• Nine to 24 weeks - it's possible to use drug treatments to have an abortion at any stage of pregnancy. The same drugs may be used as in an early medical abortion, but the process takes longer and you may need to have more than one dose of prostaglandin. You will have to go into hospital and may need to stay, especially in later pregnancy, and it's recommended that if you have a medical abortion between 12 and 24 weeks of pregnancy you should be cared for by a midwife or nurse who has appropriate experience.

Surgical treatments:

• From five to 15 weeks - the pregnancy can be removed by placing a tube through the vagina and into the cervix. This is known as suction termination. It's often carried out under local anaesthetic, but you may be offered sedation or a general anaesthetic. It can also be done as a day case, avoiding a hospital stay.
• From 15 to 19 weeks - a surgical dilatation and evacuation (known as D&E) may be necessary to empty the womb. This is usually done under a light general anaesthetic.
• Up to 24 weeks- more advanced pregnancies are rarely terminated but when they are, more complicated surgery is required.

The above information is based on Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists guidelines.The exact treatment offered to you, and the protocol and drugs used, vary from area to area. Your abortion service should be able to offer at least one method for each stage of pregnancy. Ideally, you should have a choice of methods, but this may not always be possible.

It's important you get all the support and help you need

The psychological strain after an abortion can be enormous and it's important you get all the support and help you need.

It's also important to get some expert advice about contraception.

Whatever you decide, make sure it's what you want and not what others think you should do. These are crucial decisions in your life and you have to be sure you're choosing what's best for you.

This article was last medically reviewed by Dr Trisha Macnair in August 2007.