Women's experiences of self-managing early abortion at home

What is it about?

What abortion involves has changed dramatically in the 50 years since it was legalised on some grounds in Britain. In Scotland (where our research was conducted) most abortions are carried out before the 9th week of pregnancy, using medication (the 'abortion pill'). The safety and reliability of this method means that many women can now be given the option to complete the abortion (passing the pregnancy) at home, if they live close enough to a hospital, have an adult with them, and do not have any medical conditions which would make this risky. However, the current law demands that the medication be taken on NHS (or other licensed) premises. This means women have to attend for an often very short appointment to take the medication, before travelling home to complete the abortion. This paper looks at what the shift towards home self-management means for women in a context where all abortion has until recently been provided in a hospital setting. To do this we interviewed 44 women who had recently self-managed at home. In examining the detail of their experiences, we found that most women found this to be an acceptable option, and that many preferred the comfort and privacy it offered. We also found that there needs to be a careful balance in the information provided to women (which should be clear and realistic), and that support from health professionals should be easily available (eg. by phone).

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Why is it important?

This research is important for several reasons. It provides the perspective of women who have recently self-managed medical abortion under 9 weeks at home, which can feed back into improving abortion care. It also highlights that women in Scotland (and elsewhere​ I'm the UK) could benefit from being allowed to take abortion medication at home. This would require an updated interpretation of the current 1967 law, some parts of which do not accurately reflect a how abortion is provided in Scotland/Britain in the 21st Century.