My experience of a medical termination January 2009...
By anonymous on 12/01/2009
My experience of a medical termination January 2009... My boyfriend and I have been in a long term relationship for over a year and, recently, I found out that I was pregnant. As I am still in college and my boyfriend is young too, we decided to terminate the pregnancy as we felt we were unable to give our child the quality of life that they would have deserved. I started to read up on medical terminations and came across this website. I must admit, some of the stories which I read left me feeling nervous, worried and scared. That is why I am posting this message, as it affects everyone differently and some of the horror stories posted on this website are just a minority of people who have had bad experiences. After making that decision, I made my way to the doctors and they referred me to the hospital which in total I visited three times. My first visit was to discover how far gone I was. This is done by a simple scan. You do not see the screen or the pictures that are printed off. It was then I discovered that I was five and a half weeks pregnant, so I could have a medical or a surgical termination. I chose the medical option as I felt I would have more control and it was a more natural method. Also at this appointment there is an opportunity to speak to a counsellor. However, my boyfriend had come to support me. Lastly, I was given two dates for the termination. The second visit was where the termination began.
I went into a room with the nurse who I was also going to be with for the second stage of my termination. I had my blood pressure and blood taken and was then given the first tablet. This tablet makes the womb unsuitable for the baby to grow. I was asked to wait twenty minutes before leaving to make sure I wasn’t sick. At this meeting I was told that I may experience some spotting or bleeding, sickness, period-type pains, dizziness and hot flushes, but I was unlikely to experience all of the symptoms. That was the end of my second visit and I was expected to return back to the hospital in three days time.
During those three days I was sick every morning which I felt was strange as I hadn’t had any sickness throughout my pregnancy. I also experienced light bleeding until the night before. I was expected to return back to hospital when it became really heavy. I woke up on the morning that I was returning back to hospital covered in blood. However it was nothing to worry about, just a sign that the termination was working.
My third visit to the hospital was the last stage of the termination. For this stage of the termination I was feeling very scared and quite angry that I had to do this alone as my boyfriend was not allowed to stay with me. I arrived at 8am feeling so nervous after reading all the horror stories about things that have gone wrong, but my experience was very different. Another lady and I were placed in a room and were asked to lie down on the bed. The nurse explained what would be happening during the course of the day. Every time we wanted to use the toilet, we were told to use bedpans and then call for the nurse when we had finished. Then, the nurse came into us individually and inserted two tablets in the vagina. This sounds painful but didn’t hurt a bit. It just felt uncomfortable for a few seconds. We were then instructed to lie down for half an hour to enable the tablets to work. These tablets made me feel quite dizzy so I slept for an hour. After that I felt fine; I didn’t have any pains. The nurses were always available and offer pain killers if required.
Another hour passed and I felt like nothing was happening. The lady next to me had already completed her termination and I was anxious. However, I was encouraged to walk up and down the ward to help. Still nothing. So I was given two tablets to take orally which was half the dose that I had taken in the morning. About an hour after that I went to the toilet and it happened. It’s quite a strange feeling, not painful, just a little hard to explain.
After completing the termination, the nurse asked me to stay in the hospital for two hours to monitor my bleeding. However, after the two hours my bleeding had gradually reduced and I was able to come home. Now, a day after my termination I am feeling fine. A few period pains but nothing major. I felt I needed to post my experience onto this website just to show that everyone reacts to the termination differently. It’s not all horror stories, but yet it’s good to read those so that you are prepared for what could happen. The nurses are very supportive throughout the whole time and there is support afterwards if you feel that you need it. The best advice I can give to you is relax and try not to worry as once you get there you will wonder what all the stressing was for. I did exactly that!
Editor’s note: Thanks for sharing your story with us…It’s good to see that abortion experiences can vary so much; they depend on so many different factors, not least a woman’s level of fear and her pain threshold. Yours was obviously fairly straightforward and not too much of an ordeal for you and may be quite reassuring for other readers trying to find out what a medical termination is like. So thank you for your contribution.
On another note, I notice that your story really focuses on the physical procedure of a medical termination. You don’t say much about how you felt about being pregnant at the time, except that it wasn’t the right time and you had concerns about the quality of life the child would have. Although you sounded very sure of your decision together, if at any time in the future you find yourself revisiting your termination in your heart and mind, and experience any troubling emotions, then remember that we can offer support if you ever feel you need it.
