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Advice and information on pregnancy

I think I might be pregnant, what should I do?

If you want to discuss your options you can speak to your GP or staff at any of our sexual health clinics.

If you think you might be pregnant, you should take a pregnancy test.  You can do a pregnancy test from the first day of a missed period. If you take a test before this time, the level of pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), may be too low to show up on the test and you may get an inaccurate result.   

If you don’t know when your period is due, the earliest time to take a test is three weeks after your last unprotected sex.

Visit the Sexwise website if you're pregnant and unsure what to do.

Where can I get a pregnancy test?

You can buy pregnancy tests and do a test at home. These tests are relatively cheap and very accurate. Alternatively you can go to a sexual health clinic.

What should I do if I want an abortion?

You can get referred into Worcestershire Pregnancy Advisory Service (PAS) either from your GP, or by contacting a sexual health clinic over the phone.

I'm not sure what to do. How long do I have to make a decision?

Abortion is legal up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, if two doctors agree it’s less likely to cause harm to your physical or mental health than continuing with the pregnancy.  An abortion can be legally done after 24 weeks in exceptional circumstances, for example if there’s a serious risk to your health or there’s a substantial risk of physical or mental disability if the baby is born

Although you might feel under pressure to make a decision, it’s important to take some time to consider your options and feel sure you’re making the right decision for you.

It’s important that you receive support when you need it and don’t feel pressured by anyone into making a decision you don’t want. The decision is yours. It can be very difficult to know what to do, but support is available to help you decide.

You can choose to:

  • continue with the pregnancy and become a parent
  • end the pregnancy by having an abortion
  • continue with the pregnancy and choose adoption.

I've heard there's an abortion pill. Please tell me about it.

This is called an Early Medical Abortion (EMA) You may be able to have this procedure if you are under 10 weeks pregnant and there are no other underlying conditions.  For this procedure you usually need to attend only 1 appointment that should be no longer than 2hrs. During this appointment, you will have a consultation, in some cases a USS (ultra sound scan) and then you will take a tablet orally, followed by 4 vaginal tablets which are usually administered by yourself in the next 24-48hrs (to be advised at your appointment) in the comfort of your own home/usual residence. These will induce a miscarriage type abortion about 4-6 hours after you have taken the medication. You will need support during this part of your treatment and you must also ensure that you have pain relief at home. Ideally co-codamol & ibuprofen.

Can I have it done here or will I have to travel?

We do offer appointments for the Early Medical Abortion in Worcester (which includes the Wyre Forest area) and in Redditch (for South Worcestershire, Redditch and Bromsgrove clients only), however if we are unable to offer you an EMA appointment at one of these clinics within the treatment timeframe, or you wish to have a surgical abortion you will need to travel to another clinic run by   BPAS (British Pregnancy Advisory Service) within the Midlands, or MSI (Marie Stopes Intl) who are located in Bristol or Manchester.

I’m under 16; do I need to tell parent carers about the abortion?

You can consent yourself to have an abortion without parental consent, however it is a very emotional thing to go through alone and we would always encourage you to have support from a supportive adult. In order to assess your ability to consent you will need to see a nurse to discuss options and complete a safeguarding assessment.

I’ve had an abortion, I need to talk to someone about my feelings.

You can get support from your GP, or you can contact the Pregnancy Advisory Service and speak with one of the nurses. They can discuss your feelings or concerns over the telephone, and if necessary they can provide you with contact details for a counsellor for more support.

Can I go to work the day after an abortion?

Yes in most cases you will be fine to return to work the day after an Abortion, exceptions to this would be if there were any complications, or if you do manual or very active jobs.