Unplanned Pregnancy

Finding out that you are pregnant when you hadn’t planned it can be emotional. It may feel like there is so little time and so much to think about. Mixed feelings of shock, surprise, excitement, worry, anxiety, and uncertainty are all perfectly normal and can add to your overall feeling of being overwhelmed. This can make it harder to think clearly enough to tackle the big decisions you are ultimately going to have to make.

Content Warning

the following page contains information on all options available once discovering you are pregnant. This includes general information on topics that you may find distressing or difficult to read about, including abortion, adoption and unplanned pregnancy. Support can be found through the links below or by searching Your SU’s wellbeing support hub.

What to Do First

Regardless of what path you choose to go down, the most important thing to do once you have a positive pregnancy test is to verify it with a GP or healthcare professional. This will trigger the start of antenatal care where you will be able to confirm what the pregnancy test result says, as well as helping confirm how many weeks pregnant you actually are.

Some of the options outlined below are time-critical so knowing how much time you have to consider them is important. Once you have that information, you can take a step back and focus on processing your emotions. It may be helpful to write down exactly how you’re feeling, all the questions you have, and perhaps a pros and cons list of all the options you have available to you.

It may also be helpful to talk things through with a person you trust. It could be the person responsible for fathering the pregnancy, a family member, a friend, or anyone else you feel comfortable talking to about it. Your university also has a Student Wellbeing service, which provides a safe, confidential space for you to speak with someone and receive support and resources, via appointment either online or in-person. All of this will hopefully help you feel more in control and able to make a choice that is right for you.

Going Ahead With The Pregnancy

One of the options available to you once finding out you are pregnant is to continue with the pregnancy. Here are some helpful things to consider when thinking about this option:

Your financial situation: how you will be able to afford to pay for everything a baby/child may need. You can find out more about financial support that could be available to you through your university here and through the government here.
Your education: the impact that caring for a baby/child may have on your ability to continue with your studies and what may need to be changed to accommodate this. You can find out more about how your university can support with pregnancy here.
Your accommodation: what type of accommodation you are living in and whether it is suitable for raising a baby/child.
Social and emotional support: do you have a positive relationship with the father of your baby? Do you have a strong network of friends and family to support you? If you are under the age of 25 you can find more support and guidance here. If you are planning to be a single parent, you can find more support and guidance here. If you feel you may be in an abusive relationship help and advice can be found here.
Your employment: if you have a job, whether you will need to/be able to keep it and what level of maternity leave support your employer provides. You can find out more about your rights as a pregnant employee in England here.
International students: how being pregnant may affect your student visa and right to remain in the UK. find out more on our ‘supporting students with pregnancy’ webpage. If you would like to find out more information about what happens during pregnancy, birth, and what support you can receive throughout, check out our ‘pregnancy and birth general information’ webpage.

Abortion

Another option open to you in the UK is abortion, where the pregnancy is ended before it can develop. If you choose to end your pregnancy, this will need to be done before you have reached your 24th week. Ending a pregnancy past 24 weeks is only considered in extreme circumstances where being pregnant presents a medical or health risk. Abortions can only be carried out in an NHS hospital or licensed clinic and are usually free of charge. There are two types of abortion procedure.

Medical: where two sets of tablets are prescribed to conclude the pregnancy early. The tablets will be prescribed by a clinic. A registered healthcare professional will explain everything to you, and you will take the first dose. The second dose of tablets will be taken one to two days later either at home or in clinic. This method is normally used for people who are under 10 weeks pregnant. Never self-medicate by purchasing abortion tablets online. Always go through your GP or an official clinic where you can receive the right medical and emotional support.
Surgical: where the pregnancy is ended by an operation in hospital. This is done by either using suction to remove the pregnancy through the vagina (which can be done between 7-14 weeks of pregnancy) or using forceps to remove the pregnancy through the vagina, which can be done from around week 15 of pregnancy. Both procedures will take between 10-20 minutes. nBefore the operation you will have either a local anaesthetic to numb the cervix (the opening to your womb), a general anaesthetic to make you sleep during the operation, or sedation medicine to help you relax while you stay awake. You can usually go home the same day.

Having an abortion can be a huge decision that brings with it a whole range of emotions. The British Pregnancy Advisory service (BPAS) has clinics across the UK that provide abortion consultations, counselling, and support. All their services are provided through the NHS, so they are free of charge. You can find your local BPAS service by checking out the links below:

If none of these are suitable, type your postcode into the NHS abortion clinics finder tool and it will show you the nearest clinic in your area.

Adoption

Adoption allows you to continue with the pregnancy but give up all legal rights and responsibilities to the baby once they are born and the adoption process is complete. The baby will be adopted by new parents who will bring the baby up as their own. It is a formal process that will be organised with adoption agencies and local authorities.

An adoption will not be considered complete until all arrangements have been recognised and made legal in a court of law. Once an adoption is made legal, the decision is final and cannot be changed. You can start preparing for an adoption at any time during your pregnancy. However, the process will not be complete until after the baby is born. The process is formal and extensive to make sure that all decisions made are the best for the baby.

The best thing to do if you are considering the option of adoption is to get in touch with either a doctor/nurse at your GP practice, a hospital social worker, or an adoption social worker at your local authority. They can then start the process of referring you to adoption counselling. This will make sure that you understand fully what the process involves and will give you a safe, non-judgemental space to talk through all your options.

For more information on the adoption process check out this webpage.

Adoption and International Students

For international students, it is worth noting that children born in the UK are not automatically made UK citizens and will be considered as dependents, subject to the information about dependents in the student’s visa. Children who are not UK citizens can be adopted as long as they’re from a country whose adoption process is recognised by the UK.

Here is the current list of countries that can be adopted from in the UK and a list of restricted countries that currently cannot be adopted from in the UK. These lists are taken from the UK government website and are correct at time of writing.

Children who are not UK citizens but are adopted by someone with a British citizenship will gain UK citizenship once the adoption process is complete. If you are an international student considering adoption after your pregnancy, it is very important that you discuss all details of your situation with your adoption agency, as they are best qualified to advise and help you through the process.

Further support

British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS): providing support, advice, and advocacy across the UK for those who discover they have a pregnancy that they feel unable to continue with.

National Unplanned Pregnancy Advisory Service (NUPAS): advice about termination of pregnancy, including pre-and-post abortion counselling, contraception, STI info, and NHS and private abortion services across the Northwest, Midlands and Southeast of England, as well as Yorkshire and Greater London.