Surgical termination of pregnancy (under general anaesthetic)
Date issued: May 2026
Review date: March 2028
Leaflet section: SHiP
PDF: Surgical termination of pregnancy.pdf [pdf] 162KB
Pregnancy Advice Service (PAS) 01752 431129
Counsellor 01752 431129
Emergency Services 999
Step 1: FRIDAY at 6:30am / 8am
Administer Vaginal Tablets prior to Admission to hospital.
Step 2: FRIDAY at 7am / 10am
Arrive at hospital for your procedure, please note that the appointment time is not the time of the actual operation.
Address:
Postbridge, Level 4, Derriford Hospital, PL6 8DH. Telephone 01752 431225
Please enter through the main hospital entrance to access Postbridge as shown on the UHP website.
Information for escort
The ward will ring your escort with an estimated time of when you can be collected. Please make sure that the staff have your escort’s number.
Step 3:
Start your antibiotics post procedure for 7 days.
Step 4:
Start your post procedure contraception
(if applicable)
Contact: Pregnancy Advice Service (PAS) if you think your treatment may not have been successful. Tel 01752 431129
If you DO NOT wish to go ahead with your operation please ring 01752 431129 to cancel your appointment so that someone else can be fitted in.
Your escort can either wait on the premises or go home and wait to be called, they will not be allowed to wait on the ward with you. Please do not bring children with you.
Before your operation it is advisable to have a shower or bath, remove nail polish or acrylic nails and do not apply any make-up. Bring any regular medication with you, stick on pads, slippers and a dressing gown. If you smoke, please restrict the number of cigarettes smoked immediately before your operation. (Do not bring anything valuable to the hospital as there are no lockers.
The day of your operation:
Step 1:
At the advised time written on page 2 please administer your vaginal medication.
Insert three 200mg misoprostol tablets to the top of your vagina. These will have been supplied at your clinic appointment and the insertion procedure explained. Misoprostol is used to soften the cervix to make it easier to open the cervix during your procedure. Misoprostol is not licensed to be used in this way but is used widely in the UK for this purpose.
The side effects of misoprostol are:
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period cramping,
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vaginal bleeding,
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sickness,
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diarrhoea
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feeling flushed and sweaty.
It is a good idea to place a sanitary pad in your underwear in case you experience any bleeding before your procedure.
It is advisable not to change your mind about having the procedure after you have inserted the vaginal tablets, as we cannot reverse the effects of the drug on your body.
When you arrive:
You will have to enter the ward on your own, unless there are mitigating circumstances (i.e. Under 18, very vulnerable), your escort will be not allowed to come in with you. After you have been booked in, a nurse will ask you some routine questions. The surgeon and anaesthetist who are part of your surgical team will then see you separately and go through things with you, there may be a wait for this to happen.
You will be asked to change into a hospital operation gown, and your own dressing gown and slippers. You will then be required to wait for your turn to have your operation.
This will be a few hours, as we need to give time for the medication administered to work, so please be prepared for this. You can use your mobile phone whilst you are waiting (the signal is not very good) and it can be locked away while you are having your procedure, you may also want to bring something to read.
Please note that the appointment time is not the time of the actual operation.
The anaesthetic and operation
The anaesthetic department has established guidelines for your personal safety. You will have been assessed by your consenting team and the anaesthetic department for suitability for the operation prior to arrival. It is important that the information about your health that you share with us is accurate and up to date.
When theatre is ready for you, the nurse will take you to the anaesthetic room. A small plastic needle, called a cannula, will be placed into a suitable vein and a blood pressure cuff will be put on your arm. To maintain privacy and confidentiality for all patients, no escorts are permitted out of the waiting areas.
If you have any pain or discomfort, ask the nurse for some pain relief. It is very uncommon for you to pass the pregnancy before the operation, but if you do start to feel a lot of pain and cramping or experience lots of bleeding, please inform the nursing team.
The operation list is ordered to ensure the safety of all patients based on medical history and gestation. You will be taken to theatre when it is your turn on the list, the anaesthetist will start the anaesthetic to put you to sleep.
Whilst you are asleep a speculum is inserted into your vagina, and a catheter is inserted through your cervix into your uterus to remove the pregnancy via suction. This is done a few times to ensure all the pregnancy tissue has been removed, the whole process takes approximately 15 minutes. You will be taken out of the theatre room whilst you are still asleep and be taken to the recovery room to wake up, you will be looked after by a nurse with 1 to 1 care until you are fully awake. Once you have woken up you will be taken to the recovery ward.
You will be expected to stay in hospital for up to 2 hours after your operation. The nursing staff will say when you are fit to go home. Usually this is when you have been able to eat, drink, pass urine and that you are feeling stable and well enough to get up and walk around, and that you are not experiencing any heavy bleeding.
After the operation
Despite the fact you may feel wide awake you are advised not to drink alcohol, drive a car or motorcycle, operate machinery, do any cooking, or use electrical equipment for at least 24 hours after your anaesthetic. To do any of these would not only be a danger to yourself but you would also be a potential hazard to other people. To drive would be to act illegally. You should also not sign any important documentation - it may not be legally binding.
It is not unusual for people having an anaesthetic to experience minor side effects for up to 24 hours and very occasionally for as long as 48 hours after the procedure. These may include headache, dizziness/light headedness, nausea, vomiting, sore throat, tiredness and lethargy. These side effects will generally pass if you rest.
The length of time it takes to recover varies with different patients. However, you will probably be ready to return to your usual activities within a day or two.
The risks
This is a very safe procedure, but occasionally, as with any operation, there can be complications. These include infection, heavy bleeding requiring a blood transfusion and perforation (making a hole) of the womb with the instruments used. If this happened, it may be necessary to look in your tummy with a camera and if there was internal bleeding, even do a further operation to repair it. Occasionally the pregnancy is not all removed and there may be the need for further treatment. An uncomplicated termination of pregnancy has not been shown to affect future fertility.
Prevention of infection
You will have been given antibiotics by the clinic to take after the operation to try to prevent infection, it is very important that you finish the course of tablets.
Having a bath or shower after the procedure is safe but avoid swimming until after the bleeding has stopped.
Incomplete termination
Whilst every care is taken during the operation to empty the uterus completely, very infrequently some tissue can be retained and if not expelled naturally in the form of a blood clot, may cause pain, prolonged bleeding or infection. The incidence of retained tissue is very low and once diagnosed will be treated as appropriate with either tablets or another operation to empty the womb. If you are concerned that you have tissue retained after your operation you should contact us for further investigation or treatment.
Post operative check
A post-operative check after your procedure is not essential if there weren’t any complications, but please contact us for advice if:
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you still feel pregnant
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you have an unpleasant vaginal discharge
If you have the following you should contact 111/999 or attend your nearest emergency department for medical advice:
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the bleeding is very heavy i.e. using more than 4 heave flow pads in 2 hours
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severe abdominal pains
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you feel hot and feverish or unwell
Sensitive disposal of fetal remains
At the time of your clinic appointment the doctor will discuss with you how you wish the pregnancy remains to be disposed of. The options are; burial, incineration or making your own arrangements.
Some women will feel unable to discuss this as they find it too upsetting. If this is the case, please let us know and we will continue with the standard procedure which are:
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Under 12 weeks- sensitive incineration
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Over 12 weeks- shared burial.
You will have a 4-week period of time to change your mind about this option. If you change your mind you need to contact us on the following email:
plh-tr.pregnancylossarrangements@nhs.net and we will call you back to discuss your options. Please note this email is only monitored between Monday and Friday 9am till 4:30pm.
Confidential counselling service
This service is provided for Pregnancy Advice Service (PAS) by a professional counsellor. Counselling may be helpful to address the emotions and thoughts that can arise prior to a termination. The counsellor can also talk with you about the emotional processes that might follow the termination and what signs to watch out for indicating that further counselling may be of benefit to you. Some women may wish for a further opportunity to speak to the counsellor after their clinic visit and before their procedure. This can be arranged and will take place at the clinic premises or over the telephone.
The Pregnancy Advice Service (PAS) also offers a post termination counselling session for up to a year after your procedure; you may arrange this by telephoning the Pregnancy Advice Service (PAS) on the telephone number on the front of this booklet.
You could also ask your GP if confidential counselling is available through the surgery.
Future contraception
You will have had the opportunity to discuss contraception at your clinic appointment.
If you decide to take the oral contraceptive pill or the patch you will need to start on the day following your operation, but please remember if you suffer from sickness and diarrhoea this will affect the way the pill works. You must follow the instructions for your particular pill if you suffer from vomiting and/or diarrhoea and use extra protection (condoms) during this time.
If you request the injection, called Depo Provera, this will be given to you on in the recovery ward after your operation and must be repeated at 12-13 weekly intervals.
If you have had an IUS/IUD or implant fitted during the procedure, then this is effective immediately.
If you have chosen an implant this is usually fit on the same day as your operation but occasionally booked for a few days afterwards due to staffing pressures. It is important to not have any sex until it is fitted, and you are advised it is effective if there has been a delay.
We can provide free condoms from SHiP at your initial appointment
If you or your partner is considering sterilisation, you need to make an appointment with your GP who will arrange a referral to discuss this further.
EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION can be obtained from many local pharmacies, the SHiP or your GP. If taken correctly it can be effective at preventing pregnancy, but we would recommend alternative methods for the long term. We can support you finding something appropriate for your circumstances.
Antenatal appointment cancelling
If you have booked antenatal care for this pregnancy you are responsible for cancelling this. You can do this by calling the Midwifery administration team on 01752 433256 and letting them know you are no longer pregnant. We do not share information with any other services as routine.
If you need our team to inform the antenatal booking please inform the nurse and give your consent for us to share that you have been into our service and no longer require antenatal care
Other formats
If you need this leaflet in another format such as Braille, large print, high contrast, British Sign Language or translated into another language, contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS):
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01752 439694
