"Fetal Anomaly Surgical Procedure"

I originally contact the main BPAS helpline on Monday 24th June after I had an Amniocentesis test at my local hospital. The ultrasound scan had been so heartbreaking we knew the kindest thing to do would be to end the pregnancy.

I had to wait a few days after the original phone call to have someone call me back, by which time I had had the diagnosis of the fetal anomaly confirmed by the hospital. I was booked in for Friday 5th July at BPAS Richmond.

The day before the procedure I was advised to have a large dinner then was not allowed to eat anything on the day of the procedure at all. I could have a small bit of water before I left the house 2 hours before my appointment.

Rough timescales for my particular day:

7:45am - Appointment time - taken to a quiet waiting room with other couples in the same situation

8:15am - Seen by midwife and given misoprostol to administer

8:30am - Taken back to waiting room

10:00am - Moved upstairs to a private waiting room (my mum could also come too)

11:00am - Put surgical gown on and notified there was no delays with surgery so I should be good for 11:30am

11:20am - Taken downstairs for surgery - popped on to a bed and introduced to the surgeons, anaesthetist and nurses. Surgeon asked if I had any questions and an oxygen mask was attached. One of the nurses said they would introduce me to the whole team but I think I fell asleep before then.

12:00pm (roughly) - Woke up in recovery. A lovely nurse was there as soon as I woke up chatting about holidays and jobs and checking I was OK (I didn't feel groggy at all but everyone is different!). I was given squash and biscuits after a time and blood pressure taken at intervals. A bit of a silly thing that meant a lot to me at the time was that before you go in for the surgery you are in your gown with a blanket covering you - then when you wake up from the anesthetic you are in the same position with the blanket covering you. It made it feel more private and it was easier to forget you had even had surgery.

I had some mild cramping after the surgery so was given ibuprofen straight away and my level of bleeding was very low. Even as I write this the next day I have had hardly any bleeding.

12:30pm - Moved back upstairs to drink infinite amounts of tea and eat as many biscuits and muffins as I could manage.

I was given a course of antibiotics when I was ready to go.

I cannot tell you enough how lovely everyone was at BPAS Richmond. A month ago I would never have imagined that I would be in this situation and our lives have literally been turned upside down, however all the staff at this clinic made an awful event somehow bearable.

I was never rushed and everything was always explained thoroughly with a smile.

There is a lot of waiting around so bring books (there are magazines in various places but you might be best off bringing your own).

Highly recommend this facility if you are going through a similar ordeal.