Pregnancy Test Positive? Here’s Everything You Need To Know About Abortion

Being pregnant is one of the worst scares a couple can get when they are not ready. You keep your eyes on the calendar, mark the dates, count the days, and hope that one day it will prove to be an irrational fear and the girl will get her periods. After a lot of failed players and what-ifs, the worst fears have come true. You are pregnant.

Before I start with the details there is something that I’d like to state. This article is not just for young unmarried girls who are are troubled by pregnancy. This article is for all of you out there. All the couples who fell head over heels in love, the couples who had a wild one-night stand, the married ones who know it all and have nothing to worry about, and the single people who think, “I will never be stupid enough to be caught in a situation like this,” and the punks who are too cool to receive frantic calls from one of your many casual girlfriends.
It is not just about you, it is about everyone who might be in this state. Be more than a helpless sympathy. Be the help.

So for everyone who is reading (and who is not) here’s what you need to know:

 

Step 1. Be sure

Sometimes it can be stress, weather change, health issues or anything else. Every missed period is not pregnancy. If the girl hasn’t received her periods in 49 days then you need to take an action. Get at least two-three pregnancy strips, take the test early in the morning and if the result is positive even once, visit the Ob-Gyn and get a sonography done to confirm it.

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Step 2. Plan what’s next

Confirmation of pregnancy leads to the next part of the situation, what do you want to do now. Before coming to any rash decision, all the situations need to be evaluated and thought through since it is a one-time decision that is going to affect you for the rest of your life.

For unmarried girls, there are mostly three options:
– Single mother: If you don’t want to get married and don’t want to give up the foetus then think things through. It is not going to be an easy world out there, but if you are strong enough, you will surely have a lot of moments which are worth the hard times. Someday a lot of people are going to be proud of you. However, ensure that you are independent financially, emotionally and can give the child the attention and love it deserves.

– Marriage: For the lucky couples who are in love and are ready to take their relationship to the next step. You have been planning it for a long time, and you don’t care about what the world says. You are mature enough and are financially strong for this turn, then it’s time you start a family.

– Abortion: It is a tough but a safe choice. There are several aspects that need to be well considered before making this decision. The girl should discuss this with her partner, trustworthy friends and family members. The health aspect of a girl, both mental and physical, need to be kept in mind. For couples who are dating but not ready for a child yet, it needs to be a well discussed and mutually accepted decision. And after you’ve made your mind, know all about it before going through it.

 

Step 3. Abortion 101

It is a process to medically terminate a pregnancy with the consent of the bearer (girl) within 20 weeks of pregnancy (latest). The cases of abortion gone wrong are at a rise in India, hence you should know these important things:

– Laws: According to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act 2002, it is legal to terminate pregnancy with sole consent of the girl if she is mentally stable and over 18 years of age, within 12 weeks of pregnancy. If the duration of pregnancy has crossed 12 weeks then before 20 weeks of pregnancy are completed, the girl needs the opinion of two doctors to get a termination. It can be done only if bearing the child may endanger the physical and/or mental health of the mother. Termination after 20 weeks of pregnancy is illegal in India and can harm the life of the bearer.

– Procedure: You should never go for induced abortion (home techniques) without consulting an Ob-Gyn. When you go to the doctor, you will be given following options of safe abortion:

• Medical abortion: This is an early abortion where medicines are given to terminate pregnancy. These medicines can be consumed orally, injected as an intravenous or vaginal insertion can be done. The exact medicines can vary depending upon the week of pregnancy. Common medicines during early pregnancy are mifepristone – misoprostol or  methotrexate – misoprostol. However, during the later stages Emcredyl, Rivanol, PG-E2, and other such advanced drugs are given with supervision from the doctor.
• Surgical abortion: Instead of treating with medicines, a small procedure is done on the woman to terminate the pregnancy. In the early stages of pregnancy (about 12 weeks), surgical abortion is done be artificially dilating the cervix and  evacuating the content of the uterus. These procedures may vary on the techniques and some of the common techniques are vacuum aspiration, suction evacuation or menstrual aspiration. In the later stages, Aspirotomy (13-20 weeks of pregnancy, similar to suction evacuation), Hysterotomy (like a caesarean where the uterus is open and operated) and Hysterectomy (when early termination fails and the uterus needs to be removed along with the pregnancy) are performed. 

Before selecting any type of abortion, the girl needs to consult an Ob-Gyn in the government certified MTP clinics (the list of these clinics in your state are easily available on the internet). The decision should be taken only after consulting the doctor and analyzing the pros and cons of the situation.

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Step 4. The D-day

Remember that this is not the situation you want to save money or take a risk. Finalize a certified and reputed Ob-Gyn and finalize a method and date. After that relax, stress will only make the situation more difficult. Most abortion methods allow the girl to function normally and continue with her routine. However, in case of few surgical or medical methods, initial heavy bleeding and nausea may require rest for a while. Make sure the girl is not stressed and has trustworthy people around her to make her feel better. If you are alone and going through this on your own, read good books, watch happy movies and keep your head filled with happy thoughts, remember that the hard time will soon pass.

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Step 5. The difficult part is over.

Take a lesson from it and be careful in the future. It’s time to move on and make something big of your life. For the couples who have survived this, have learned a lot about each other and reached a new place (not necessarily together). For the partners, family and friends who have supported the girl through this, it is not over yet. Many girls tend to go into depression after this, and it it your job to make them feel that they’ve neither committed a crime nor is their life over.

For the brave girls who handled it on their own, you should be proud of yourself for being tough. You have emerged strong and the only way you can go now is forward.

If we keep creating a taboo over this issue, the number of deaths of young girls will keep increasing. It is essential that we increase awareness and ensure that both male and female know about this equally and behave responsibly in such situations.