If you have had sex and missed a period it is important that you find out whether or not you are pregnant as soon as possible. If you are pregnant and wish to continue with the pregnancy, you should register your pregnancy with Maternity Services as soon as possible. More information is available on our Maternity pages.
You can find out more about contraception on our Sexual Health pages.
For information about termination see the Early Medical Termination form.
You may feel confused, upset, shocked or dismayed. However you may feel you will need to consider the options open to you. How much time you have depends on how far on in the pregnancy you are already.
These are your options:
1. Continue with the pregnancy and keep the baby
2. Continue with the pregnancy and have the baby adopted or temporarily fostered
3. Have the pregnancy terminated (have an abortion)
You can self-refer for an abortion Monday–Friday 11am-3pm by calling 01592 643355 and enter extension number 25445 when asked. You can also self-refer by emailing your name and contact telephone number to fife.womenschoices@nhs.scot and a member of the nursing team will call you back the next working day to arrange your appointment, please note the call will come from a 0800 number. By using this self-referral service and by submitting your information you are consenting to being contacted and for your data to be processed. If you are unable to attend you appointment or have change you mind and no longer require the appointment please telephone and let us know.
There are a number of people who can help and advise you. You may wish to discuss things with the clinic nurse or doctor, with your GP or with family and friends.
If you do not wish an abortion but couldn’t cope with bringing up a child, then adoption might be the answer for you. You can find more about this from www.fife.gov.uk/adoption
In the end only you can decide what is the best thing for you to do.
Many people have faced the same choice and most feel they made the right decision in difficult circumstances.
If you are unsure of what you want to do then you can discuss your options at the termination clinic and be given further information and advice. All discussions and treatments are confidential.
Before you decide, you need to consider your reasons:
If you want an abortion, the law says two doctors need to review your situation and confirm that the abortion would be legal according to the criteria set out in the Abortion Act. There are time limits to abortion, so the sooner you get advice the better. Remember that the number of weeks you are pregnant is worked out from the first day of your last normal period.
Legally in Scotland, England and Wales, you can have an abortion up to the 24th week of your pregnancy, with the agreement of two doctors. However it is safest if the abortion happens in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
For further information on what happens when you choose to have a abortion of pregnancy please see the abortion factsheet. Video reproduced with thanks to NHS Lothian.