Booking an Abortion Consultation

What is an Abortion Consultation?

An abortion consultation will always happen before abortion treatment. Consultation appointments give time to talk through treatment options. Consultations include a clinical assessment to find the safest and most effective abortion option for you.

Our teams are caring, understanding and non-judgemental. We are here to give medical advice, information about abortion options and support during treatment. We will not influence you or force you into making your decision. If there is anything you do not understand, please don’t be afraid to ask. We are here for you.

What Happens at an Abortion Consultation?

Discuss Pregnancy Options

We will ask you about the pregnancy options you have considered. Options can include:

Continue the pregnancy and parent the child after birth.

Continue the pregnancy and consider adoption or foster care after birth.

End the pregnancy with an abortion.

Your decision should be personal to you. You should be able to make this decision without feeling under pressure or forced by anyone.

We can talk to you about the types of abortion care: Medical Abortion (abortion pills), and Surgical Abortion.

If you decide to continue the pregnancy you must tell your GP or midwife as soon as possible. It is important to get antenatal care if continuing a pregnancy.

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Legal Requirements Surrounding Abortion

We will ask your reasons for wanting an abortion. This is to check legal conditions for us to offer treatment. Two NUPAS doctors will review the consultation notes to authorise treatment.

We will also talk to you about consenting to receive treatment. You will need to be 100% sure about your decision. If you have any questions about treatment, please ask the nurse.

If you are undecided, that’s ok. This decision is yours to make. If you need more time to think about it, you can make an appointment later. If you feel like counselling sessions would help you to make a confident decision, we can arrange this for you.

Learn more about the abortion counselling services we provide.

Learn More

Clinical Assessment

The clinician (a nurse or midwife) will do a clinical assessment during your abortion consultation. To do this they will take information about your health and medical history. Everything you tell us is confidential. We would only share information if we were seriously concerned about your safety or the safety of a child in your care.

If we ask you to visit a clinic for a face-to-face clinical assessment the clinician may do the following checks:

Ultrasound Scan – this might be on your tummy and/or inside your vagina.

Blood Pressure and Pulse Rate

BMI checks (Height and Weight)

Blood Tests – We may offer you tests for anaemia and blood type.

STI Tests –We may advise you to access testing for sexually transmitted infections such as offer you tests for Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis and HIV. We can signpost you to services that provide testing.

Want to find out more about the clinical assessment and what to expect during a visit to a NUPAS clinic?

What to Expect

Discussing Contraception Options After Abortion

The nurse will talk to you about contraception options. Fertility can return as soon as 5 days after an abortion. This means you can get pregnant again if you are not using contraception. There are lots of contraception types to choose from. We can help you find a new contraception if your old one hasn’t worked well.

More About Contraception

Abortion Consultation Options

At NUPAS we have two types of consultation:

Telephone Consultation

This option is ideal if you:

Have a busy lifestyle,
Cannot get to a clinic easily,
Are having medical abortion pills posted to you,
Are over the age of 16.

You will need to be in a quiet room for the phone call. It is useful to have a pen and paper with you to write down information the clinician gives you. On average your appointment will take between 30-45 minutes once you are called by our clinicians, sometimes up to an hour or more However, individual cases may vary and we request your understanding with this. You can choose either a morning or an afternoon for your call.

If you would like to go ahead with treatment, the clinician will either make an appointment for you or arrange for medical abortion pills to be sent to you, depending on the information discussed during the consultation. Some of the questions feel very personal. We ask you to be open and honest with us, so we can ensure we provide the most appropriate, safest treatment options to you.

The clinician may need to make an appointment for you to come to a clinic for a face-to-face clinical assessment. This may be needed to make sure you are suitable for your preferred choice of treatment, based on your current health or medical history.

A telephone consultation is available if you are over 16 years’ old. If you are under 16, you may be required to have a face-to-face consultation.

Face-to-Face Consultation

With a face-to-face consultation, you can visit one of our clinics to speak to an advisor who will talk you through treatment options. The consultation and assessment would be undertaken in clinic, face-to-face. The same questions will be asked as they would be during a telephone consultation.

On average your appointment will take between 30-45 minutes once you are called through by our clinicians. However, individual cases may vary and we request your understanding with this.

On average, your appointment will take between 30-45 minutes once you are called through by our clinicians, and sometimes up to 1 hour. However, individual cases may vary and we request your understanding with this.

Find out which services are available at our clinics here.

NUPAS booking a consultation for our services

FAQs Relating to Your Abortion Consultation

Is an abortion consultation necessary if I already know what I want to do?

Yes, an abortion consultation is a legal requirement for providing abortion care. You will need to have a consultation with a clinician before the treatment is offered. This consultation can be conducted face-to-face or over the phone. If you are under 16 years old, you will need to be seen at one of our clinics.

During the consultation, the clinician will review your medical history to determine the best treatment options for you. They will explain what the abortion procedure involves, including potential risks and complications, to ensure you can provide informed consent. The clinician will also be available to answer any questions you may have.

What if I change my mind?

If you need more time to make your decision, please let us know. We can arrange for you to speak with a trained counsellor if you think it would help you feel more confident in your decision.

If you start feeling unsure about having an abortion after your consultation, don’t worry. You can change your mind at any time before the treatment begins. If you decide not to proceed, just inform us so we can cancel your appointment.

If you change your mind after taking the first medical abortion tablet (Mifepristone) and decide to continue the pregnancy, please inform us as soon as possible. While Mifepristone is not known to cause birth anomalies, there may be an increased risk of miscarriage later in the pregnancy. We also recommend informing your GP and midwife.

There are no clinical guidelines that recommend any medications to reverse a medical abortion.

Can I have an abortion if I take prescription medication?

You can let us know if you are taking any regular medication during your clinical assessment. If you are taking prescribed medication you should continue to take these as normal. If you are prescribed Aspirin, Warfarin or Clopidogrel (Plavix), please tell the clinician during your consultation. We will ask you lots of questions about your medical history and medications you take, this helps us ensure you are safe to have an abortion with NUPAS. In some cases, we have to refer our patients to the NHS for abortions, but will talk to you before doing this.

What do I need to have ready for my abortion?

For your consultation please have a list of any medicines or inhalers that are prescribed to you.

For your abortion treatment:

Wear loose fitting, comfortable clothing.
Have a supply of sanitary towels that are suitable for a heavy flow (not tampons).
Have a supply of pain relief at home, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, or any regular pain relief medication you would normally use.
Heat pads or a hot water bottle can also be effective at managing pain.

If you are having a surgical abortion with sedation or general anaesthetic, we will give you instructions on how to prepare for treatment.

Where can I get a free pregnancy test?

We do not charge for carrying out pregnancy tests at our clinics. However, we do not offer ‘walk in’ pregnancy tests in our clinics.

If you're unable to do a pregnancy test yourself, please bring in a urine sample from first thing in the morning, in a clean plastic container, as this will give the most accurate test result.

Alternatively, you may be able to get a free pregnancy test from your GP.

Booking Your Consultation Appointment

Call us to speak to an advisor. Lines are open from 8am - 8pm, on weekdays and 8am-6pm at weekends. An advisor will take details from you over the phone and give you a consultation appointment date.

From UK:
0333 004 6666

From Republic of Ireland:
(01) 874 0097

From all other countries:
0044 161 4872660

You can also arrange for us to call you back instead if you prefer.

Request a Call Back

If you have any questions you can talk to one of our team on our live webchat, Lines are open from 8am - 8pm, on weekdays and 8am-6pm at weekends.

Get in touch with NUPAS

Give us a call:

United Kingdom:
0333 004 6666

Republic of Ireland:
(01) 874 0097

Overseas:
0044 161 4872660

Arrange a call back instead

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0333 004 6666

01 874 0097

Booking an Abortion Consultation

What is an Abortion Consultation?