"Surgical Abortion"

I contacted the number that I found online for the Marie Stopes clinic in Maidstone as soon as I'd made the difficult decision to terminate my pregnancy. The lady that I spoke with was very kind and understanding and asked me what time slot I preferred to have a telephone consultation that same evening.

I received a call shortly after 5pm and the lady went through some medical details with me and asked when the first day of my last period was. She determined that I was around 5 weeks gestation and she booked me in for an appointment to have an ultrasound and to talk through which procedure I'd prefer.

My next appointment was at the clinic itself the following week as I needed to be 6 weeks before any treatment could be given. I waited for around 30 minutes and was then called into a room with a very friendly nurse. I had the scan which confirmed that I was exactly 6 weeks. I had decided to opt for a surgical abortion, as I'd heard lots of horror stories about the medical abortion. She pricked my finger to test for iron levels (presumably?) and asked me a few medical questions and talked about contraception options. She then asked me to go back to the waiting area and wait to be called to make my appointment. I waited for 5 minutes before being called to a small room just off reception, where I was given several dates and times. I chose the closest date possible, which was at 13.40 the following Tuesday. She gave me an information booklet about the procedure and off I went.

I was incredibly nervous and was suffering with the usual pregnancy symptoms. On Tuesday morning I decided not to eat anything as I was feeling too jittery but I was allowed a small breakfast i.e. toast and tea 6 hours before my procedure. I arrived at 13.35 and was taken straight upstairs. The lady that escorted me was lovely and tried to reassure me. I was called into a nurse's office where she asked if I was allergic to anything and she went through possible risks and asked me to sign a consent form. I then emptied my bladder and undressed from the waist down before placing a sarong around my waist. I tapped the door when I was ready and was asked to sit on the end of the bed/couch and wriggled back and put my feet on the end too. I laid back and one nurse took my blood pressure whilst the anaesthetist put a cannula in my arm. I felt a slight stinging sensation when the drug was pushed through and an odd taste in my mouth. I was then being "woken" in the other room. I was sat on a recliner with a heat pad on my tum. I was confused as to why they didn't do it lol - they did do it, I just couldn't remember. I was given antibiotics and ate a couple of biscuits with some water. After 20 minutes or so, I went for a wee and got dressed. I wasn't bleeding at all. The cannula was then taken out and I was free to go.

That was yesterday and I can honestly say that the procedure was pain free and I can't remember a thing. I'm still not bleeding and have had the odd mild cramp.