{"@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "WebPage", "name": "Termination for foetal anomaly", "copyrightHolder": {"name": "Crown Copyright", "@type": "Organization"}, "license": "https://developer.api.nhs.uk/terms", "author": {"url": "https://www.nhs.uk", "logo": "https://digital.nhs.uk/binaries/content/gallery/website/developer/api-catalogue/nhs-website-content/nhs-attribution.png", "email": "nhswebsite.servicedesk@nhs.net", "@type": "Organization", "name": "NHS website"}, "about": {"@type": "WebPage", "name": "Termination for foetal anomaly", "alternateName": ""}, "description": "If tests show abnormalities in your baby, abortion is an option. Read about how it's carried out and where to get support.", "url": "https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/support/termination-for-foetal-anomaly/", "genre": ["Advice or information"], "keywords": "", "dateModified": "2021-11-18T16:12:56+00:00", "lastReviewed": ["2021-07-01T14:10:00+00:00", "2024-07-01T14:10:00+00:00"], "breadcrumb": {"@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [{"@type": "ListItem", "position": 0, "item": {"@id": "https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/", "name": "Pregnancy", "genre": []}}, {"@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": {"@id": "https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/support/", "name": "Support", "genre": []}}, {"@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": {"@id": "https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/support/termination-for-foetal-anomaly/", "name": "Termination for foetal anomaly", "genre": ["Advice or information"]}}]}, "hasPart": [], "relatedLink": [{"@type": "LinkRole", "url": "https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/support/", "name": "Support", "linkRelationship": "Navigation", "position": 0}, {"@type": "LinkRole", "url": "https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/support/domestic-abuse-in-pregnancy/", "name": "Domestic abuse in pregnancy", "linkRelationship": "Navigation", "position": 1}, {"@type": "LinkRole", "url": "https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/support/feelings-and-relationships/", "name": "Feelings, relationships and pregnancy", "linkRelationship": "Navigation", "position": 2}, {"@type": "LinkRole", "url": "https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/support/having-a-baby-that-might-be-born-with-a-condition/", "name": "Having a baby that might be born with a condition", "linkRelationship": "Navigation", "position": 3}, {"@type": "LinkRole", "url": "https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/support/teenage-pregnancy/", "name": "Teenage pregnancy support", "linkRelationship": "Navigation", "position": 4}, {"@type": "LinkRole", "url": "https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/support/termination-for-foetal-anomaly/", "name": "Termination for foetal anomaly", "linkRelationship": "Navigation", "position": 5}, {"@type": "LinkRole", "url": "https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/support/when-pregnancy-goes-wrong/", "name": "When pregnancy goes wrong", "linkRelationship": "Navigation", "position": 6}], "contentSubTypes": [], "mainEntityOfPage": [{"identifier": "0", "name": "section heading", "position": 0, "@type": "WebPageElement", "mainEntityOfPage": [{"position": 0, "identifier": "1", "text": "
If tests show your baby has a serious anomaly, find out as much as you can from your doctor about the condition and how it might affect your baby.
Hearing the diagnosis can be very shocking and you may find it hard to take in. You may need to go back and talk to the doctor with your partner or someone close to you.
Spend some time thinking things through. The charity\u00a0Antenatal Results and Choices offers information and support for people who have received a diagnosis after antenatal screening. Its helpline is answered by trained staff:
You may be offered a termination to end the pregnancy. Some couples wish to continue with the pregnancy and prepare\u00a0for the needs of their newborn baby, while others decide to terminate the pregnancy (have an abortion).
", "@type": "WebPageElement", "name": "markdown", "headline": ""}], "description": "", "hasPart": [{"position": 0, "identifier": "1", "text": "If tests show your baby has a serious anomaly, find out as much as you can from your doctor about the condition and how it might affect your baby.
Hearing the diagnosis can be very shocking and you may find it hard to take in. You may need to go back and talk to the doctor with your partner or someone close to you.
Spend some time thinking things through. The charity\u00a0Antenatal Results and Choices offers information and support for people who have received a diagnosis after antenatal screening. Its helpline is answered by trained staff:
You may be offered a termination to end the pregnancy. Some couples wish to continue with the pregnancy and prepare\u00a0for the needs of their newborn baby, while others decide to terminate the pregnancy (have an abortion).
", "@type": "WebPageElement", "name": "markdown", "headline": ""}]}, {"identifier": "0", "name": "section heading", "position": 1, "@type": "WebPageElement", "mainEntityOfPage": [{"position": 0, "identifier": "1", "text": "There are 2 main types of termination:
You should be offered a choice of which method you would prefer whenever possible.
A medical termination allows for a detailed examination of the baby (post-mortem) that can help find out the exact nature of the baby's abnormalities.
Tests can be done after both a medical and surgical termination to see if the baby was carrying a genetic disorder.
This may help your doctor to determine the chance of a future baby having a similar problem.
", "@type": "WebPageElement", "name": "markdown", "headline": "What happens"}], "description": "", "hasPart": [{"position": 0, "identifier": "1", "text": "There are 2 main types of termination:
You should be offered a choice of which method you would prefer whenever possible.
A medical termination allows for a detailed examination of the baby (post-mortem) that can help find out the exact nature of the baby's abnormalities.
Tests can be done after both a medical and surgical termination to see if the baby was carrying a genetic disorder.
This may help your doctor to determine the chance of a future baby having a similar problem.
", "@type": "WebPageElement", "name": "markdown", "headline": "What happens"}]}, {"identifier": "0", "name": "section heading", "position": 2, "@type": "WebPageElement", "mainEntityOfPage": [{"position": 0, "identifier": "1", "text": "A medical termination involves taking medicine to end the pregnancy. It doesn't require surgery or an anaesthetic, and can be used at any stage of pregnancy.
It involves the following steps:
When a medical termination is carried out after 9 weeks of pregnancy, you're more likely to need to stay overnight in the clinic or hospital.
Occasionally, the pregnancy doesn't pass and a small operation is needed to remove it.
", "@type": "WebPageElement", "name": "markdown", "headline": "Medical termination"}], "description": "", "hasPart": [{"position": 0, "identifier": "1", "text": "A medical termination involves taking medicine to end the pregnancy. It doesn't require surgery or an anaesthetic, and can be used at any stage of pregnancy.
It involves the following steps:
When a medical termination is carried out after 9 weeks of pregnancy, you're more likely to need to stay overnight in the clinic or hospital.
Occasionally, the pregnancy doesn't pass and a small operation is needed to remove it.
", "@type": "WebPageElement", "name": "markdown", "headline": "Medical termination"}]}, {"identifier": "0", "name": "section heading", "position": 3, "@type": "WebPageElement", "mainEntityOfPage": [{"position": 0, "identifier": "1", "text": "Surgical termination involves having a procedure with either:
There are 2 methods.
This can be used up to 14 weeks of pregnancy. It involves inserting a tube through the entrance to the womb (the cervix). The pregnancy is then removed using suction.
Vacuum aspiration takes 5 to 10 minutes, and you can usually go home a few hours later.
This is used from after 14 weeks of pregnancy. It involves inserting special instruments called forceps through the cervix and into the womb to remove the pregnancy.
D&E is usually carried out under sedation or general anaesthetic. It normally takes 10 to 20 minutes, and you might be able to go home the same day.
", "@type": "WebPageElement", "name": "markdown", "headline": "Surgical termination"}], "description": "", "hasPart": [{"position": 0, "identifier": "1", "text": "Surgical termination involves having a procedure with either:
There are 2 methods.
This can be used up to 14 weeks of pregnancy. It involves inserting a tube through the entrance to the womb (the cervix). The pregnancy is then removed using suction.
Vacuum aspiration takes 5 to 10 minutes, and you can usually go home a few hours later.
This is used from after 14 weeks of pregnancy. It involves inserting special instruments called forceps through the cervix and into the womb to remove the pregnancy.
D&E is usually carried out under sedation or general anaesthetic. It normally takes 10 to 20 minutes, and you might be able to go home the same day.
", "@type": "WebPageElement", "name": "markdown", "headline": "Surgical termination"}]}, {"identifier": "0", "name": "section heading", "position": 4, "@type": "WebPageElement", "mainEntityOfPage": [{"position": 0, "identifier": "1", "text": "You may wish to think beforehand about whether you want to see and perhaps hold your baby, and whether you want to give your baby a name.
If you don't want to see the baby, you could ask hospital staff to take a photograph for you in case you change your mind in the future. The photograph can be kept in your notes.
Holding your baby or having a photograph is only possible with a medical termination of pregnancy.
", "@type": "WebPageElement", "name": "markdown", "headline": "Seeing and holding your baby"}], "description": "", "hasPart": [{"position": 0, "identifier": "1", "text": "You may wish to think beforehand about whether you want to see and perhaps hold your baby, and whether you want to give your baby a name.
If you don't want to see the baby, you could ask hospital staff to take a photograph for you in case you change your mind in the future. The photograph can be kept in your notes.
Holding your baby or having a photograph is only possible with a medical termination of pregnancy.
", "@type": "WebPageElement", "name": "markdown", "headline": "Seeing and holding your baby"}]}, {"identifier": "0", "name": "section heading", "position": 5, "@type": "WebPageElement", "mainEntityOfPage": [{"position": 0, "identifier": "1", "text": "You may wish to think about having a burial or cremation for your baby. Talk to the doctor or nurse at your hospital about your options.
", "@type": "WebPageElement", "name": "markdown", "headline": "Having a funeral"}], "description": "", "hasPart": [{"position": 0, "identifier": "1", "text": "You may wish to think about having a burial or cremation for your baby. Talk to the doctor or nurse at your hospital about your options.
", "@type": "WebPageElement", "name": "markdown", "headline": "Having a funeral"}]}, {"identifier": "0", "name": "section heading", "position": 6, "@type": "WebPageElement", "mainEntityOfPage": [{"position": 0, "identifier": "1", "text": "It can help to talk. If your family and friends find it difficult to understand what you're going through, you could make contact with people who have had a\u00a0similar experience. Antenatal Results and Choices\u00a0can help.
Visit healthtalk.org to watch video interviews with parents talking about their decision to end their pregnancy because of foetal anomaly.
", "@type": "WebPageElement", "name": "markdown", "headline": "After a termination"}], "description": "", "hasPart": [{"position": 0, "identifier": "1", "text": "It can help to talk. If your family and friends find it difficult to understand what you're going through, you could make contact with people who have had a\u00a0similar experience. Antenatal Results and Choices\u00a0can help.
Visit healthtalk.org to watch video interviews with parents talking about their decision to end their pregnancy because of foetal anomaly.
", "@type": "WebPageElement", "name": "markdown", "headline": "After a termination"}]}]}