The consultation takes and hour and a half. Please be aware that treatment will take place at a separate appointment and usually not on the same day.

All of these steps will take place as part of your consultation but they might happen in a slightly different order.

We’ll treat everything you tell us in confidence. Doctors, nurses and other health workers are not allowed to give out information about you without your consent unless they think that you or another person is in serious danger. In these exceptional cases they would try to discuss it with you first.

Pregnancy options discussion
Initially you will be seen on your own to talk about the pregnancy and about your options which are to:
continue the pregnancy and become a parent
continue the pregnancy and pursue adoption
end the pregnancy by abortion

There will be an opportunity for your support person to join you later. This discussion is as short or as long as you need it to be. If you need more time to come to a decision or would like to speak to a counsellor in more depth, please let us know. If you decide to end the pregnancy we will begin your medical assessment.

Medical assessment
If you decide to have an abortion at bpas you will need a medical assessment. We will go through your medical history and carry out a few tests, which include:

• a scan – this can be on your stomach, or if the pregnancy is early, a small probe may be placed into your vagina*
• a finger prick blood test

It makes sense to be tested for Sexually Transmitted Infections while you are with us. We will discuss with you the tests that are available and also talk to you about contraception

* Although you will have had a positive pregnancy test, your pregnancy may be so early that we cannot see it on the ultrasound scan. This is most common when the pregnancy is less than 5 weeks. If we cannot see the pregnancy on ultrasound, it means that we cannot be sure the pregnancy is developing inside the uterus (womb). Rarely this may indicate an ectopic pregnancy (where the pregnancy grows outside of the womb). Click here for more information on ectopic pregnancy.  To treat you we need to be able to see the pregnancy on the ultrasound scan and make sure it is growing in the uterus. We may need to ask you to return for a repeat scan in a week when the pregnancy should be visible on the ultra sound scan or refer you for evaluation in the NHS.

Treatment Options 
After your medical assessment we will talk to you about your abortion treatment options.

The type of abortion procedure you may have depends on how many weeks pregnant you are, whether you would like to be awake or asleep and your personal choice. If you have any medical conditions they may affect which treatment types we can offer you.

We will answer your questions and help you to choose the best type of treatment for you. WE will then book your treatment appointment.

Important things to remember for your consultation: 

• If your doctor or family planning clinic gave you a letter please bring it with you
• Please bring any medications that you are taking with you to your consultation
• Please try to come to the consultation with a full bladder as it makes it easier for us to see the scan clearly
• We don’t have facilities for children at our centres
• Please only bring one person with you as we don’t have waiting facilities for large groups