“If I can help some other young girls going through it, then that’s worth it for me.”
This person shares their experience of having a medical abortion (abortion with pills) under the age of 18, comparing it with their previous experience of a surgical abortion.
“I noticed my period hadn’t started, which is very odd for me.”
I’m only 17, so I am writing this to help any other young girls struggling in this situation. I first noticed my period hadn’t started, which is very odd for me as I am usually a little early every cycle.
I took a test. It was positive. Due to nerves, I waited a little to book my appointment. I was about 8 weeks pregnant this time, however I’ve had a surgical abortion before at 7 weeks. This time I chose to have a medical abortion, so I’ll talk you through my experiences with both!
“I had relatively no pain after the surgical abortion, just low cramping.”
In my experience, a surgical termination is very painless as I was anesthetized during it. I know some people I’ve spoken to have an issue with being asleep when such a private surgery is happening – however, I would recommend being put under because it helped me so much.
I had relatively no pain after the surgical abortion, just low cramping and no other side effects. You also aren’t even aware the surgery is happening if you are put under!
“Being in the comfort of my own home helped a lot.”
This time, I chose to have a medical abortion. I took the mifepristone at the clinic.
I was sent home with the misoprostol and given instructions on how to take the rest of the medication. My experience with my medical abortion was tough, extremely painful* and very difficult to go through. However, being in the comfort of my own home helped a lot! I sat back and watched some silly cartoons like my favourite, Adventure Time.
“It helps to talk about your own experience.”
I’m not sure what the purpose of me writing this is, but I guess if I can help some more young girls going through it, it’s worth it for me. A medical abortion can be very hard to deal with for some people, as is the surgery, however from personal experience I’d say the procedure of the surgery was more comfortable if you have a low pain threshold.
Thank you for listening. It helps to talk about your experience and the chance to help other young girls is very important to me, as I know how anxiety provoking this can be.
If you would like to know more about your privacy when accessing abortion services under the age of 18, please read our blog here.
We also provide free (NHS-funded), confidential counselling services as part of abortion care. Our counselling team is available any time you need to talk before, during and after your treatment, even if your abortion was some years ago.
We have a robust safeguarding process of identifying and supporting clients through various safeguarding concerns. You can find out more about our commitment here.
*Every person is different and will experience different levels of pain and bleeding during a medical abortion, but most people will have significant cramping pain and will find pain relief helpful. If pain is severe, this is usually short lived and is relieved when the pregnancy passes. Find out more about medical abortion and pain relief here.
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Sharing stories is at the heart of ending the stigma that too many people still feel when it comes to abortion.
