“I don’t know how to thank the staff, nurses and doctors enough.”
A client explains their experience of having a medical abortion at 40 years old, having already had children and deciding to prioritise studying and job applications.
“My advice is that everyone’s experience is different depending on their own body and the stage of pregnancy.”
Suddenly I discovered that I was pregnant, and I was 40 years old. I had three children, the oldest of whom was 11 years old and the youngest 4 years old. I was applying for a job and studying, and I felt that the pregnancy was at the wrong time for me. I was psychologically tired when I had the examination, and I found out it was 5 weeks. At the same moment, I decided to have an abortion.
“The call was very convenient.”
I searched on Google for abortion, found the MSI website, and filled out the online form. The next day, they sent an email with the appointments over the phone, which would be in two days’ time. The call was very convenient.
I was asked some questions, including my medical history, which determined that a medical abortion would be the best option for me. Then, a final phone call was made to confirm the information. Two days later, I received a package with the medicine inside it. I was hesitant to take the first step because I was looking after my kids, had no childcare, and had read many stories about bleeding and pain. However, this was not my experience.*
“I called the aftercare line, because there wasn’t lots of bleeding and I felt worried that I could still be pregnant”.
I took the first pill on Friday, and the next day, after 24 hours, I inserted four pills vaginally, and after an hour I went to the toilet, where i saw light bleeding. After 3 hours, I took the last two pills, and an hour later, I passed the pregnancy without pain because I had taken a painkiller ten minutes before taking the four pills.
On Sunday morning, I resumed my normal life. There was no pain, and there were blood clots only when I went to the toilet. On Monday, I felt very well and took my children to school. In the evening, I called the aftercare line because there wasn’t lots of bleeding, and I felt worried that I could still be pregnant. The kind nurse on the phone told me that this was normal because I was only five weeks pregnant.
“I don’t know how to thank all the staff, nurses and doctors at MSI UK enough.”
Three days later the bleeding stopped. After 3 weeks had passed, I did the pregnancy test and found that the abortion had been successful: I was no longer pregnant. I am fine and healthy. I don’t know how to thank all the staff, nurses and doctors at MSI UK enough for all the help and support they have given me. My advice is that everyone’s experience is different depending on their own body and the stage of pregnancy.
Don’t be afraid; your own experience is more than normal.
Thank you.
*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.
