I felt emotional about life in general - not my decision to have an abortion - and a little sad that I couldn’t have another baby.
I found out I was pregnant when my youngest was only 7 months. I had a 3 year old and a 6 year old as well. My infant hadn’t even begun sleeping all night and I was already under a great deal of stress just trying to stay on top of 3 kids, maintaining a home and all that entails, plus working and balancing my schedule with my husbands. On top of the fact that I had PPD after my 2nd and 3rd baby. I knew right away that we couldn’t have another. We weren’t sure if we ever wanted a 4th, let alone a 4th so soon.
Luckily for me, I’m friends with an abortion counselor and hearing her story/stories from her job, and reading her constant support for abortions through social media made me feel so much more at ease with my decision and gave me someone to go to that I trusted for guidance and advice. That plus my husband was on board with it as we are both very much pro choice. I went into it knowing what to expect because of my friend’s guidance, but I still feared the unknown. I have never had even minor surgery, had very easy pregnancies and deliveries, and suffer from anxiety. Honestly, waiting most of the day at the clinic was the hardest part. Thinking about what would happen, if it would hurt, if the staff would be supportive, that was all the worst part.
I ended up having an extremely supportive nurse in the room with me and the doctor was very kind as well. The procedure felt like strong cramps/mild contractions. It was over within 2-3 minutes. The bleeding after was like a regular period for a few days and spotting for a while after that. I immediately felt relief after. In the following week, my hormones were a little crazy, I felt emotional about life in general – not my decision to have an abortion – and a little sad that I couldn’t have another baby. It just wasn’t right for us. But my decision to have the procedure is one I still feel confident about. I would make it again. And the support and kindness of the staff at the clinic made it that much better. Abortion is normal and abortion IS healthcare!
