Your Options When You Are Pregnant:

If you have the following issues, you may be pregnant, shortness of breath, frequent urination, mood swings, high temperature, missed periods and nausea or dizziness. However, the only fool-proof evidence of pregnancy is a positive pregnancy test.

There are some options that you can choose from if you become pregnant. You can give birth and raise the baby, give the child up for adoption, or have an abortion. Various factors should influence your decision such as your moral values, religious beliefs, physical and mental health, financial situation and career.

If your moral values and religious beliefs are against abortion, you should choose adoption or raising the child. If you cannot raise the child on your own there are religious organisations, and secular services that will adopt the child. However, if you are not against abortion then you ought to get one.

If you are physically and mentally healthy then you can raise the child. However, if you are not you may want to consider adoption. The same goes for your finances and career.

If you decide to go through with the pregnancy then you need to contact a hospital who will guide you along your pregnancy with regular check-ups and tests.

The Types of Abortions:

In India, abortion is legal until the second trimester or in other words 24 weeks. However, only under certain circumstances is abortion allowed:

• When the continuation of pregnancy is a risk to the life of a pregnant woman or could cause grave injury to her physical or mental health;
• When there is a substantial risk that the child, if born or dead would be seriously handicapped due to physical or mental abnormalities;
• When pregnancy is caused due to rape (presumed to cause grave injury to the mental health of the woman);
• When pregnancy is caused due to failure of contraceptives used by a married woman or her husband (presumed to constitute a grave injury to the mental health of the woman).
• When the socio-economic condition of the family is poor and the couple already has 2–3 children.

There are two different types of abortions that a woman can get. They are medical abortion and surgical abortion.

The abortion pill:

The abortion pill is in fact two medicines-

1. Mifepristone is the first medicine. It ends the pregnancy by blocking the hormone progesterone. Without progesterone, the lining of the uterus breaks down and the pregnancy cannot continue.
2. Misoprostol is the second medicine. It makes the womb contract, causing cramping, bleeding and the loss of the pregnancy similar to a miscarriage.
   

Surgical abortion:

There are two types of surgical abortions–

Vacuum aspiration. It is done with a local anaesthetic, sedation or a general anaesthetic. It removes the pregnancy by gentle suction. Up to 14 weeks, this can be done with local anaesthetic. The quicker recovery time for this procedure means you can leave the clinic unattended and drive sooner.

Up to 15 weeks this can be done with sedation or under general anaesthetic.

Dilatation and Evacuation. This surgery is done between 15 and 24 weeks of pregnancy. Up to 18 weeks it may be under either general anaesthetic or conscious sedation. At 18 weeks or later the procedure is done only under general anaesthetic. The pregnancy is removed using narrow forceps through the cervix. Preparing the cervix. Cervical preparation is given before any surgical abortion at all gestations.

These are the options you have for an abortion.

What Option Should You Choose for An Abortion?

If you want to get an abortion then you may be overwhelmed by the different options available to you. Which is why you should speak to a healthcare professional.

The Chennai Abortion Clinic has doctors with years of experience in performing abortions. They will advise you on which type of abortion you should get, be it medical or surgical. Please come to us if you want a safe and efficient abortion.