On the day of your abortion 

What to expect on the day of your medical abortion appointment at one of our clinics

• Please arrive 10 minutes before your appointment time. Please attend your appointment on time or your appointment may not go ahead. 
• You should be prepared to be at the clinic for up to 90 minutes.
• Please bring any medication being taken, any relevant referral or medical paperwork (if applicable).
• During your appointment, you will pick up the abortion pills and our nurses will give you clear, detailed instructions on how to take them. They will also give you a medical abortion treatment and aftercare booklet which details how to take the pills, and the pain relief you may find useful.  
• You may be asked to take the first pill (mifepristone) at the clinic. If this applies to you, this will be explained during your appointment. 

What to expect on the day of your medical abortion at home (telemedicine) 

During your phone call with a nurse, it will be decided whether you will collect pills from one of our clinics, or have them sent to you in the post.  

If the pills are sent to you in the post, they will be delivered in a discreet package that fits in your letterbox and sent first class. Please allow 48 hours following your consultation with the nurse for your package to be delivered. If after 48 hours you haven’t received the package, you may call us back. 

What to expect on the day of your surgical abortion appointment 

Depending on your gestation (how many weeks pregnant you are), you may have to attend between 2 and 3 appointments, as follows:

• Your first appointment will be your pre-assessment appointment. If you are under 19 weeks, this will be followed by your surgical treatment appointment. 
• If you are over 19 weeks, you will have to attend 2 further appointments (cervical preparation appointment and surgical treatment appointment). 

The first appointment you will attend: surgical pre-assessment

• You should be prepared to be at the clinic for about 1 hour. 
• You will see a healthcare professional who will review your medical history and carry out relevant pre-treatment tests. 
• At your appointment you will have a scan and relevant tests.
• The cervix (neck of the womb) needs to be prepared before the procedure. If you are below 19 weeks, this is done with tablets. You will be provided with information about when to take the tablets – this will be either 2 days before your procedure, on the day of the procedure or both.  
• You will be booked onto the next available surgical appointment list on a different day. 
• Please bring any medication being taken, your referral paperwork and scan documents you may have (if applicable). 
• Please attend your appointment with a full bladder as you may need to be scanned. This helps to give a clearer picture. 
• The healthcare professional will explain the surgical treatment process and go through some forms with you, which you may be asked to sign. 
• At the end of the pre-assessment appointment, your healthcare professional will confirm that you know what to expect and your surgical treatment appointment will be booked. 

Consenting to your abortion  

Before consenting to your abortion, we will explain all of the known side effects, risks, and possible complications of your abortion treatment to you.  

If you have any questions, a nurse will be able to answer them for you, so please feel free to discuss anything.  

Ahead of your appointment, you will be sent a consent form so that you have time to familiarise yourself with it and prepare any questions you may want to ask during your appointment. 

We will not proceed with abortion treatment unless you are certain of your decision. We have counsellors that you can speak to on the telephone ahead of your appointment if you would like.