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Pregnancy Advisory Service

Sexual Health Pregnancy Choices page iconIf you think you might be pregnant, you should complete a pregnancy test. 

You can take a pregnancy test from the first day of your missed period. If you are unsure when your period is due, the earliest you should take a test is three weeks after the last time you had unprotected sex. Pregnancy tests are accurate. You can buy a cheap test from most supermarkets or pharmacies and test at home. Alternatively you can go to your GP or sexual health clinic. 

If you are pregnant and want to dicuss your options you can speak to your GP or staff at any of our sexual health clinics. 

What should I do if I want an abortion?

If you are registered with a GP in Worcestershire you can be referred to Worcestershire Pregnancy Advisory Service (PAS) either from your GP, or by contacting a sexual health clinic.

Early Medical Abortion -Treatment Information Leaflet

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

You can legally have an abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, (providing two doctors agree it is less likely to cause harm to your physical or mental health than continuing with the pregnancy).

An abortion can only be legally performed after 24 weeks in exceptional circumstances.

It is important to take some time to consider all your options and make sure the decision is right for you. 

It is also important that you receive the right support and don't feel pressured by anyone. The decision is yours, and support is always available to help you decide. 

You can choose to: 

  • contine 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 have no underlying health conditions. 

You will need to attend an appointment. During this appointment, you will have a consultation, and in some cases an ultra sound scan (USS), and then you will take a tablet orally, followed by four vaginal tablets which you can adminster by yourself, at home within next 24-48hrs. About 4-6 hours after taking the medication, it will induce a miscarriage type abortion. You will need support during this part of your treatment and pain relief at home. Ideally Co-codamol and Ibuprofen. 

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

We offer appointments for EMA in Worcester for anyone registered with a GP in Worcestershire. If we are unable to offer you an EMA appointment within an appropriate timeframe, we can give you an authorisation code to contact the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) Marie Stopes Intl (MSI). We have a pathway with these providers and they may be able to offer you a postal option for your EMA, if they do not think you need a scan. If they want you to have a scan you may need to travel to one of their clinics. BPAS have clinics in the Midlands and MSI are based in Bristol. 

BPAS and MSI are also the providers for surgical abortions. If you are over 10 weeks or choose to have a surgical abortion you will need to travel to one of their clinics.
Surgical abortions are not performed in Worcester.

I'm under 16; do I need to tell my parents/carers about the abortion?

No. You can decide and agree to have an abortion without parental consent. However, it can be an emotional experience. We encourage you to have support from a trusted adult. 

In order to assess your ability to consent, you will need to see a nurse to discuss your options and complete a safeguarding assessment. 

I’ve had an abortion, I need to talk to someone

You can get support from your GP, or you can contact the Pregnancy Advisory Service to speak with one of the nurses. They can discuss your concerns over the phone. 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. The only exception to this would be if there were any complications, or if you do manual or very active jobs.