The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has published revised guidelines on the care of women seeking a termination of pregnancy. The latest revision includes a number of recommendations, including:
- Service providers should recognise issues that make women particularly vulnerable, and promptly refer them to the appropriate authorities when required. The pre-existing recommendation required clinicians to identify those who needed additional support and to ensure that appropriate pathways were available to provide that support.
- Service providers should advise women of the range of emotional responses that they may experience during and following an abortion.
- Service providers should be aware that women with a history of mental health issues are at an increased risk of further problems after an unintended pregnancy.
- As well as offering STI screening, there should also be a notification system for partners, and referral to sexual health services.
- Contraception methods should be discussed at the initial assessment (as opposed to “before discharge” as recommended previously) and a plan agreed on the use of contraception going forward,
Read the full guidelines here:
The RCOG have also published guidelines to support the proposals for the home use of misoprostol for the medical termination of pregnancy. Home use of misoprostol was rejected in a Court judgment earlier this year – for more information on the Court decision, see the link here:
