Abortion information
We have provided information about abortion for women whose first language is not
English. We see many women who are resident in the UK and non UK residents through
our centres and our team are there to offer support and help in any way they can.
About Marie Stopes Clinics
Marie Stopes International has 9 clinics around the UK that provide help for women
who are considering abortion. We are very experienced and our doctors and nurses
are experts. We provide one third of all abortion services in the UK every year.
We will do everything we can to care for you and make your visit to our clinic comfortable.
Abortion
If you have found out you are pregnant and are considering abortion here is some
information about the services we provide at Marie Stopes Centres. We are there
to help you and everything is completely confidential.
Pregnancy test
To make sure you are pregnant do a pregnancy test. You can buy one from a chemist,
supermarket or have a test at a local family planning clinic.
Making your appointment
If you would like to make an appointment with Marie Stopes International to discuss
abortion, call us on +44 (0)845 300 8090. Our information service is open 24 hours,
7 days a week.
When you telephone us, we will give you a date and time to come to centre and tell
you where you need to go. Please try and get someone you trust who speaks English
to help you with the telephone call if you need to. You may also need help when
you come for your appointment at the Marie Stopes Centre, as we can not guarantee
there will be someone there to translate for you.
You can choose to come and have a consultation and abortion treatment on one day
or on two separate days if you wish. Counselling is also available if you are not
sure what to do. Please let us know if you would like to have counselling first
as an interpreter will be necessary.
If you are coming privately there will be a fee – please look at the Marie Stopes
fees section for more information about our costs for an abortion. Alternatively
if you are resident in the UK and qualify for NHS treatment you can go to a family
planning clinic or your GP may be able to refer you for free NHS abortion services.
You are just at the Marie Stopes centre for the abortion for a few hours, up to
a day if you are 19-24 weeks pregnant. If you are travelling a long distance we
would recommend that you stay overnight in a hotel or bed and breakfast accommodation
after your treatment before you go home. Our team can help you if you need to know
any details about this on +44 (0)845 300 80 90.
Your consultation
When you come to the Marie Stopes centre first of all you will see a doctor or nurse
who will talk to you to make sure you have reached a decision about having an abortion.
They will check your medical history, your general health, ask about any medicines
you take and discuss contraception with you. You will have a few tests while you
are at the centre – a finger prick blood test or blood sample, a scan of the number
of weeks pregnant you are and your blood pressure checked. We also advise that all
women have a check for Chlamydia infection before treatment. We will also explain
about the abortion treatment choices. Our doctor will need to fill in an official
abortion form and we will need to obtain your signature to show that you consent
to have the treatment.
Abortion treatment choices
Marie Stopes centres offers two types of abortion procedures:
Medical abortion or the abortion pill (to 9 weeks of pregnancy)
For this abortion method you would need to be less than 9 weeks pregnant. It involves
taking tablets and requires you to make two visits to the Marie Stopes Centre 24
- 48 hours apart. So you have to stay in the country for 2-3 days while this treatment
takes place.
We will check that there is no medical reason why you could not have this method
of treatment. You will be given one tablet on the first visit and four tablets on
the second visit. These tablets will cause a miscarriage by stopping the pregnancy
continuing and cause the uterus to expel the pregnancy. You must take all the tablets.
You will experience heavy bleeding and cramping and may feel nauseous and will lose
the pregnancy usually within 4 hours of taking the final tablets. Sometimes this
can be a day or two after taking the tablets and some bleeding can continue for
a couple of weeks.
Surgical abortion (to 24 weeks of pregnancy)
We are able to provide surgical abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. For this treatment
you can go straight home after your treatment. Surgical abortion uses gentle suction
to remove the pregnancy from the uterus. This takes about 5-10 minutes and you will
need to spend a short time in the clinic afterwards to make sure you are comfortable
and well before you go home. For later abortion you will need to stay at the centre
for longer.
For this method you can have three different anaesthetic options:
- Fully awake during the treatment
- Sleepy and drowsy but awake, with a small injection called conscious sedation
- We also offer a general anaesthetic where you will be fully asleep – later abortion
is always by general anaesthetic.
Risks of abortion
Although abortion is a very safe procedure there are some risks which you should
be aware about, these include small risks of infection, continuing pregnancy, incomplete
abortion and in very rare cases damage to the uterus. We will discuss these with
you when you have your consultation with us.
On the day of your treatment
You should not eat, drink anything, even water or smoke for 6 hours before your
treatment appointment.
Your partner/friend/relative may bring you to your treatment appointment but will
not be able to stay while you have your procedure. They will be given a time when
they can return to pick you up to take you home.
After your surgical treatment there will be time to rest and we will make sure you
are well enough to leave.
When you go home
We will give full aftercare instructions on how to look after yourself when you
go home. There is a 24 hour aftercare help and advice line on 0845 300 8090.
We advise that you rest for at least 24 hours. You may take a shower the next day;
we advise you not to take a bath or swim for one week, and not to use perfumed products
until your bleeding has stopped. You should avoid heavy housework or physical work,
as this may make you feel unwell and cause bleeding and pain. If your job is very
physical you should take a few more days off. All clients will have some bleeding
after an abortion that may go on for some time.
Our 24 hour aftercare service offers all the help and advice you need after an abortion
and we are able to offer post treatment checks at the clinic if you are worried
about anything. If you need to call our helpline please ensure you have an English
speaking friend with you.
Taking pain killers
Please make sure you have painkillers at home; we recommend Paracetamol and Ibuprofen
(Only take Ibuprofen if you are sure you can take them) Do not take Aspirin products
Looking after yourself after an abortion
There is very little risk to your health or future fertility after having a medical
or surgical abortion; but to reduce the risk of infection only use pads not tampons
until your next period. Do not have sexual intercourse for two weeks.
There is a small risk of the pregnancy being missed or incomplete at the time of
treatment. If you get signs of infection – including a high temperature and general
flu like symptoms please contact us as soon as possible.
We are open 24 hours for advice on +44 (0)845 300 8090 please have your four digit
pin number ready when you phone.
Your next period
Your next menstrual period may begin any time from 4 to 8 weeks. You should do a
pregnancy test three weeks after your treatment, just to check that everything has
been successful. Do not do it earlier as the pregnancy hormone will still be in
your system and the result may still be positive.
Call us on +44 (0)845 300 80 90 if you have any questions or would like to make an appointment.