An Unwanted Pregnancy: What to do About It?

An unplanned pregnancy often turns out to be an unwanted one. Pregnancy and birth are undoubtedly wonderful things, but sometimes a baby doesn’t fit in the future parents’ plans. Such a situation usually arises from carelessness, the lack of sufficient knowledge about sex, contraception failures, and so on. So, what to do if an unwanted pregnancy happened?

The termination of pregnancy occurs, as a rule, because of the unsatisfactory social and economic living conditions of the woman, the reluctance of the future father to take responsibility for the child, the pregnancy being a teenage one, medical contraindications to giving birth, and simply the unwillingness of the woman to have a baby. To go through with a pregnancy or to interrupt it – it’s up to the woman to decide.

What to do about an Unwanted Pregnancy?

If the woman doesn’t want this baby, she has a few options of what to do next.

Medical Abortion

Some doctors agree that the best way to end an unwanted pregnancy when the term is still early is a medical abortion. The medication which is used for abortion stops the development of the embryo and evicts it from the uterine cavity. All the drugs dealing with an unwanted pregnancy are prescribed by a health expert. The most optimal term for medical abortion is week 4-6.

Vacuum Aspiration

It’s the procedure of “suction” of the embryo from the uterine wall through the cervix. The surgery is performed under local or general anesthesia at the term of 4-12 weeks, but before the 6^th week, the possibility of trauma is less. The longer is the pregnancy term, the more complications its termination can bring.

Surgical Abortion

It’s performed only in those cases when there is no other choice. This pregnancy termination method is a complete surgery that can be done before the 12^th week. But when there are medical (or social) indications, the procedure can be performed even at later stages.

No matter how easily the procedure has gone, after an abortion, it is important to think about how to avoid an unwanted pregnancy in the future, so that the situation doesn’t repeat itself.

Safe Birth Control Options

Everyone knows what birth control is nowadays. Teenagers are taught its importance at school. However, the problem of unwanted pregnancy is still relevant.

There Exist a lot of Various means of Preventing an Unwanted Pregnancy:

• It’s 95% effective. In comparison with medicinal products for unwanted pregnancy, this birth control method has no side effects and also protects from STDs.
• Birth control pill. Taking the pill according to the instruction, the woman gets a 91% guarantee that an unwanted pregnancy is prevented. But, in spite of its high effectiveness, this method is not suitable for many women because of such side effects as migraines, the risk of thrombosis, negative influence on arterial blood pressure, and so on. Birth control patch often has the same effects.
• The intrauterine device is 99% effective as a means of unwanted pregnancy prevention. But its use is not recommended for nulliparous women or women suffering from certain gynecological problems. IUDs often cause long, painful, and profuse menstruations and inflammatory processes in the pelvic area, so a lot of women beware of using them. There is also a risk of an ectopic pregnancy.
• Birth control shot. Its effectiveness is 94%. The injections are done according to a schedule (usually once every three months). The side effects are similar to those of oral contraceptives.
• Spermicides are 71%-90% effective. But it’s not recommended to use them for long periods of time because they can disturb vaginal microflora. If you have sex on a regular basis, it’s better to use the double method – spermicide with a condom.
• Diaphragm, cervical cap. These are barrier contraceptives that reduce the possibility of an unwanted pregnancy by covering the cervix. The cap and diaphragm need to be chosen individually depending on the size of the cervix by a gynecologist. The effectiveness of these birth control methods is 71-88% because there is no guarantee that they don’t come off during intercourse.
• Emergency contraception. For 72 hours after unprotected sex, the woman can take a morning-after pill. They are sold in drugstores. Experts claim that emergency contraception is 97% effective. The medication in it changes the qualities of the endometrium and prevents the fertilized egg from implantation.

Psychological Aspect

Some women feel relieved after unwanted pregnancy termination. Others go through a storm of negative emotions which can lead to depression. This is a psychological reaction to an abortion – a post-abortion stress syndrome.

It can be Recognized by the following Feelings:

• Constant guilt for what you’ve done;
• Rage, aggression;
• Depression;
• Anxiety;
• Suicidal thoughts;
• The inability to forget what you have done even for a day;
• Sexual dysfunction;
• Problems in relationships with the opposite sex, including the aborted baby’s dad;
• Alcohol and drug abuse.

The post-abortion stress syndrome requires psychological help, less often – therapy. After the termination of unwanted pregnancy the woman needs support, she needs to turn over this page and go on. And close ones (husband, parents, friends) can help her to get better.

What to do if an Unwanted Pregnancy can’t be Terminated?

The healthcare provider can refuse to perform an abortion on those women who have blood coagulation problems, urogenital infections, acute inflammatory processes, fresh scarring on the uterus or the gestation term is longer than 12 weeks.

In this case, the woman has two options: to treat the pathologies (they will have to be cured anyway) or to have a baby.

Don’t panic and think of some way to get rid of the unwanted baby without a doctor. Trying to induce a miscarriage at home is the worst thing you can do in this situation. As has been mentioned above, healthy women are not likely to miscarry, and the harm done to the fetus will be serious.

It’s better to consider all the “pros” and “cons” and, if abortion is not an option, to make a decision to give birth and bring up this child or give them for adoption, and then be more careful about contraception.

The Consequences of Abortion

You should understand that the termination of unwanted pregnancy does a lot of harm. Abortion is a huge stress for the female body and its aftermath can be tragic. After this procedure, the woman becomes irritable, and her general state of health and work efficiency is suffering.

There are often hormonal disorders in the body that require treatment. The immune system becomes fragile; there is more risk of infectious and inflammatory diseases. All this can be a reason for infertility and long-term reproductive problems.

Before terminating an unwanted pregnancy, every woman should think over her decision. An abortion that has been done rashly, under the influence of someone’s opinion and prejudices can affect a woman’s state of health and mind the negative. And the decision to give birth to a baby can turn out to be the best in your life!