Unplanned Pregnancy – Your options

Learning that you are pregnant can be a shock, and can lead to some difficult decisions. In making a choice, you need to consider not only how you feel now, but how your future plans may be affected by your choice. You might seek help from friends, family, people in college or CUSU, but remember that at the end of the day the final decision is yours to make. You have to feel comfortable with the decision you are making.

You have three main options if you find out you are pregnant:

Below we have expanded on these options so that you have the right information you need to make the choice you want. But remember there are lots of places and people that can support you when making this decision.

Terminating a pregnancy – Abortion

An abortion is the deliberate ending of a pregnancy. There are two main methods of abortion. Medical abortion involves taking a combination of drugs, and surgical abortion involves a minor operation. Most abortions can be within a day, which means you don't have to stay anywhere overnight.

The Law

The 1967 Abortion Act and later Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 allow abortion to take place up to the 24th week of pregnancy, and in some rare circumstances after this date. A woman may be eligible for an abortion:

If continuing the pregnancy would involve risk to the life of the woman greater than if it were terminated,
If continuing the pregnancy would involve risk to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman greater than if it were terminated,
If continuing the pregnancy would involve risk to the physical or mental health of any existing child(ren) of the family of the pregnant woman greater than if the pregnancy were terminated,
If there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped.

The process

It is necessary to get the permission of two doctors for an abortion. They must certify that the legal grounds are met, although they do not necessarily have to see the woman personally. The first will usually be a GP or Family Planning doctor who will refer you on, and the second a doctor at the abortion clinic. If the GP has a conscientious objection s/he is allowed to reject the request, but you have a right to be referred to another GP. You can do this by contacting the Family Planning Clinic, where all the staff are willing to refer.

You will then be referred to the Termination Referral clinic at the Rosie Maternity wing of Addenbrooke's Hospital. The clinic aims to see women within a week of referral, but at busy times this can be two weeks.

At the first visit to the hospital the doctor will take a medical history and perform brief physical and internal examinations. They will then ask if you want to see a social worker or counsellor who will talk over options with you. They will also give information about the termination and any side effects. For terminations at less than twelve weeks, only a few hours' stay at the Day Surgery Unit is required. However, because general anaesthetic is used, there must be someone to take you home and look after you for the next 24 hours. (The CUSU Welfare or Women's Officer will always go with you if you want.)

Between 12 and 14 weeks a similar operation is carried out but, because at this stage there are greater risks, women stay overnight in hospital. After 14 weeks it is necessary to use drugs to trigger a miscarriage. Although considerate nursing and pain relief is provided, this can be a distressing process for some women. In this situation women are encouraged to have a companion with them throughout the procedure. (The CUSU Welfare or Women's Officer will always go with you if you want.)

Reactions

There is often a complicated mixture of relief, guilt, anger and isolation to be sorted through after an abortion. If this affects your work, go to see your Tutor or Director of Studies or to come and speak to Natalie, the CUSU Women's Officer or Andrea, Welfare & Graduates Officer. The Family Planning service will continue to give support after an abortion for as long as necessary, as will the University Counselling Service.

Risks

As with any medical procedure, abortion carries a risk of complications. An abortion performed in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy is a very safe operation, with a morbidity rate of just 1.3 per 100,000. Still it is essential, however well you feel, that you attend the post abortion check-up arranged for you. If you are worried about anything, do not hesitate to go back to their GP or to hospital. It should be pointed out that an abortion, especially an early abortion, actually poses much less risk to your health than having a baby.

Having the baby

Whatever you decide to do after the birth, it is important to take advantage of the ante-natal (before birth) care on offer. This is usually through your GP in conjunction with the local maternity hospital and your health visitor who can give advice on diet, dental care, relaxation classes and post-natal care. Throughout your pregnancy, it's important to remember that support is available, even if it doesn't come from your partner. A friend of any sex who is concerned for your all-round well-being can be invaluable and would be welcomed at the birth should you wish them to be present.

Keeping the baby

Deciding to look after a child on your own or with a partner is a massive commitment for at least 18 years, and it is important to seriously consider the implications in all areas of life. You have to feel ready to take on the tasks of being a parent, and decide if you think you can and want to raise the child. Being a student and a parent can be both emotionally and financially draining. But this does not mean that you should not consider it an option.

Two major obstacles are housing and childcare. There is an acute shortage of accommodation suitable for families in Cambridge, and many landlords are unwilling to let to people with children. There may be support from the University Accommodation Syndicate, or your Tutor. Certain colleges have family accommodation, or may be able to help you find accommodation suitable to your needs.

Childcare can be extremely expensive, which is why the University may help you pay for it or part of it. If you want to look into the support available, the CUSU pages on childcare give a good summary. Alternatively, you can contact the University's Childcare Co-ordinator Cassie Marks (childcare@admin.cam.ac.uk) or, as always, the CUSU Women's or Welfare & Graduates Officers.

Giving the baby up – adoption and fostering

Fostering is when a child is handed over to foster parents for a short period, and can be arranged privately or through Social Services. It is, however, often difficult to begin caring for a child already a few months old, and foster parents can be given the option to adopt if a child is fostered immediately after birth. Adoption is the complete transferral of legal rights and duties towards a child by its natural parent(s) to another family. Adoption Societies will counsel pregnant women considering adoption. The natural parent(s) may specify certain reasonable requirements for the adopting family to attempt to meet. They will match, as far as possible, the characteristics of the baby and the adopting family. The difference between the two is therefore that Foster carers share the responsibility for the child with a local authority and the child's parents, and is usually a temporary arrangement (though sometimes foster care may be the plan until the child grows up) whereas adoption is permanent and involves a complete transferral of rights to another set of parents.

Making the choice

It's all well and good having the options, but any of these choices are incredibly hard to make, and you will need support in both making it and going through with your decision. CUSU is always here to help you through your choices, but there are also lots of other people and places that can support you