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Considering an abortion :(

99 replies

Sadgirl · 25/05/2009 07:41

Had a contraception failure and in a moment of stupidity DP and i decided to leave it up to fate, what were we thinking

I am now 9/10 weeks pregnant and it feels like i've been hit by the realisation that this is a huge mistake and i can only see the negatives. I have one 20 month old who is such hard work, i am struggling daily with PND, due to start college in september, also entering a weight loss programme (i have a lot to lose) and just feel that this is a mistake. I have bad MS and feel like DS is suffering, i got v bad SPD last time, i just don't think i can handle the pregnancy, nevermind actually having a baby, we had decided to stick at one and i was happy with that choice...

DP has similar doubts but is trying not to say too much i think as he knows this has to be my decision and i am glad he is not trying to sway me but it feels so hard, and so lonely

OP posts:
NationalFlight · 29/05/2009 20:53

Crossed posts with you, hope it's helpful, probably not but have a nice bath anyway xx

NationalFlight · 29/05/2009 21:32

What I suppose I want to say, is that it doesn't sound altogether as though it is the baby that is wrong.

As though it wouldn't solve it, iyswim. I really don't know why I'm getting that feeling and it's quite hard to put into words without sounding rude or overstepping the mark, but I have a feeling the answer is somewhere for you, in your head...such a strong yet not altogether rational response to being pregnant, and at this stage of pregnancy, just seems like it could be cause by something that goes a long way back for you.

Of course whether you would be able somehow to address/conquer that - I can't say. Perhaps not - in which case maybe this is what you need to do, and things will be alright again.

But there could be another way around it iyswim.

NationalFlight · 29/05/2009 21:35

...and finally, this:

'How can I have spent the last 3 weeks thinking about my due date and a sibling for DS and then have such a realisation or wake up call as this?'

You were Ok with it until this last week...so what happened...? In theory it could just be a hormonal blip, to do with the crash in progesterone once it starts being produced in utero (thus cessation of M/S)

In other words a bit of a crisis.
Simplistic, moi?

I have to go to bed with the boys now but will check on you tmrw x

Sadgirl · 30/05/2009 10:31

Thank you Flight

I don't know how to feel today. I really don't.

A bit of honesty. While DP has NOT said 'I want you to have an abortion' or 'I am dreading another baby' he has made it clear he does not want it. My... motivation? reason? for considering this is NOT because of him please please believe that but it is clearly heavily influenced by it. Please note influenced not controlled. There is no threat here, no risk, I am not scared of losing my DP whatever I do, I know that happens an awful lot on MN and I am over-doing my assurance here but this is genuine - I am absolutely my own person in this relationship.

But if he was saying he did want it... it would make me stop and think, of course. Can I have a baby that is not wanted? DS was wanted but DP didn't think much of him for a while.

But what else happened - I woke up on Sunday morning and thought 'what the hell am I doing???' and 'this is a huge, huge mistake'. I can see my life going in one of two ways now, and in my imagination one of them is miserable and hard and the other is good and happy - but that will also involve the weight of decision and that is what is holding me back. I cannot know if I will have regrets.

OP posts:
Sadgirl · 30/05/2009 10:32

It is hard because DP is no longer talking to me about it. He says, I love you, I will support you whatever happens. And that's it. That's all he will say. We go to bed and night and I ask him not to cuddle me because it's warm and I find it hard to get comfy. Then I wake up in the morning struck by loneliness.

OP posts:
NationalFlight · 30/05/2009 13:32

Oh how terribly hard it must be. I know when I was in that similar situation, all I really wanted was for someone to put their arms around me and say 'yes, let's do this, how lovely, a baby' but nobody did, and it was that lack of any support or joy in people's faces that made me consider it so strongly. I felt like I was floating, didn't know what I ought to do - well I thought I ought to get rid, really, because even I didn't love it or feel anything particularly.

But I suppose pregnancy is filled with changes of mind and hormonal shifts and regrets and terrible fears...and also moments of pleasure at what is to come, it's such a mixture and to say you 'want' or 'don't want' the baby seems a bit, well, asking a lot of yourself.

The point is that the baby is already in there and it's only in the advent of easy terminations (i say 'easy' but you know what I mean) that many of us feel we HAVE to decide...it used to be, there is a baby, it's coming out unless I go to extreme measures to stop that happening, risking life and limb etcetc.,

Now it's almost like you are pressured into deciding to continue or not at every stage until it's 12 weeks or whatever.

Not to say the option shouldn't be there for those who genuinely can't have a baby for whatever reason, or will be destroyed by doing so - but if it's a bit less urgent than that, and there's no tangible risk to it or to you or your other children, I don't think you need to be put in that position.

I just told everyone that it wasn't my decision to make, it was already there, I knew nobody wanted it and it'd be hard work etc but I wsn't going to confuse my poor body that was already fighting hard to keep this thing alive, everything keyed up totally for promoting this creature's wellbeing, by getting some bloke in a white coat to abstract it.

I felt violated before I even got to that point. And on the day when I cancelled it, I still didn't feel right about it - I felt absolutely alone and stupid and to blame, and everyone did blame me - they admitted they thought I was ridiculous.

Now I have ds2, and I have been taught how to love. I still have problems with depression and so on but FAR less than before...as someone said, now there are two, I am a mother - that's my job and no disputing it. I didn't feel I was before.

I'll shut up now as I'm rambling about me and this isn't about me. I'm sorry if I've not helped much, but hope you will be Ok.

Sadgirl · 30/05/2009 15:36

No Flight your posts are touching and thoughtful and I do get a sense that you know how this feels - how I feel.

When I first read your post that said you decided to do nothing I felt frustrated because doing nothing is hard for me to 'get' - I like decisions being made and things being done. Now I think I know what you meant and can understand, a little. I feel sad for you that you were in that situation, who was telling you that you were ridiculous?

I also feel a reassurance reading how you felt on the day when you cancelled it - sorry at how that sounds but in my mind, changing my mind about going had to be because of a new-found desire to have a baby and should therefore be all joyous and happy and hugs with DP and patting my tummy... so if I do cancel it is okay to feel like I am still not thrilled, but not positive enough to go ahead.

I think a big thing is being scared of how it would affect me. I know this has been mentioned a lot in this thread and I don't wish to diminish anyone else's experience but I feel that if I had already decided my family was complete (as opposed to a feeling that DS would be an only for various reasons) then terminating an unwanted pregnancy would feel like a more solid decision for me.

I also have DS to consider in making the decision - sure, he might benefit from undivided attention in the next few years but after that? I am not great on socialising so don't foresee a big circle of friends with same-age children. Is that a stupid thought? I don't know, it feels like any 'reason' is a trivial one. Deciding to have first baby was so simple.

Right, this got long so sorry for the incoherence and probably the typing but I wrote it all and am not editing, just getting it out.

I have spent all day laying around thinking. I enjoyed reading the thread questioning if women (well, mothers) are more selfish than previous generations and it made me think that if I am 'stuck in' with 2 small children I could try to see it as a positive thing, sorry if this seems disjointed but maybe I can find personal reward from time at home that is just as fulfilling as having a job where you are recognised.

I flash back to my life pre-DS and I had a great job, not high power or a big cheese or anywhere in that direction, but appreciated, valued, part of something. My job post-DS is total bollocks but this week the training I was on got back a little of that 'old' me - and I think a lot of my thoughts about terminating are about that 'old' me and the parts I miss.

I was cheery, happy, enjoyed simple pleasures like making a nice meal or reading a good book, and of course I had limitless freedom. And, yes, fucking hell, I was thin and had a wardrobe of great clothes. There I said it. Now my tummy is much like it was the day after giving birth and I think what will a second time to do it? I know everyone goes through it (well... some people ) but the shock of the physical a/effect (I never know which ) on me was a big one and hard to deal with, I would cry looking at myself, I still would only I have got used to it a bit. Food is tiresome and a nuisance with a fussy DS so it's like a cycle of the same things over and over, my desire to cook is just gone and it is a low point of the day and obviously with a toddler that is MOST of the day! So I feel like the colour drained from life a bit. But maybe I could get some of that back. Maybe?

I feel for my DP as I was so happy and then had DS and become so moany - not nagging to do jobs, just impatient and tired all the time and fed up of the house and daily chores that I just used to do without thinking. Now I have cleaners and even hate that because the house smells TOO clean when they've been, I wish I could do a room a day rather than the marathon they do. The house does not feel like home so another DC is putting in roots and that scares me a bit. But we can't afford to move and would be foolish to, great neighbours and area, space, it's just a feeling I have not addressed so here I am feeling like it's not home. Oh everything annoys me, I am so irritable. Nothing is good enough but I am also full of apathy. I thought life after children would be happy and simple, hard yes of course! But hard does not mean unhappy.

So I realise none of this is about being pregnant and I am left with this choice to make. Either decision is going to change my life but I am in control of what that change is and what I do about it. I get bogged down in not wanting a double pushchair (I mean FFS! What is wrong with me! DOES IT MATTER?!!!!) or turfing DS out of his small but lovely room into the big room (would have to share with DC2 as I need a study) - then I think SO? He might love it by then! All in all I think I don't want to shake his world up. Why, why do I feel like this, none of this is about a baby. What if it broke me and DP apart - then were we just not strong in the first place? Am clearly aware that terminating could do the same.

I just want to go to bed and have the answer in a dream

OP posts:
NationalFlight · 30/05/2009 16:28

Woah, someone who writes longer posts than I do...at last!!

There's a lot, a massive lot of stuff going on in your head - it's not surprising you feel confused.

Many of the things you mention are indeed common to, well if not all of us then a great majority during a pregnancy. There tends to be a balance of positives and negatives and I think definitely a sense of loss of control, and a fear about how things will change, is usually present.

Yes, babies do change the plans but you can't always predict whether that is good or bad...and in what ways. For instance the bedroom thing, you might opt to have the new child in with you initially, and ds might then decide he wants a larger space in time for you to put them both in together...something like that. Things don't always happen as you think they will.

Wanting the 'old you' back is understandable and again very very common - I totally relate to the physical stuff, I too used to be thin and wore nice clothes and after pregnancy, cried about the loss of that - but there is a common thread with some of your fears, and that is that perhaps a second pregnancy would actually improve certain things...you might end up slightly altered but it might be in a good way. Especially the psychological aspects, to do with your changed role etc...I'm much happier as a mother of two than I ever was as a mother of one - not sure why, I just am! It's bizarre and I don't know if we're different on that, as you say you dote on ds already, and I never did find things easy with my first. Likewise a good friend of mine finds her second child a challenge, while she enjoyed her first very much. But still she is glad she has both.

The question of what would be best for ds is a good one. I always wanted to give ds1 a sibling, mainly because I am rubbish socially and don't have many friends, hate playdates and so on...so I figured that a sibling would be a really good idea, and actually it has been, despite a large age gap (4 years). They really get on and they appreciate each other deeply, in a way I honestl;y never anticipated...and it actually takes a LOT of pressure off me as they have someone present, someone to muck about with and talk to, an ally against big cross Mummy at times as well

There is another relationship now - not just me and ds1, or me and ds2, but ds1 and ds2. And fwiw I think that is the most important one in our family.

Obviously there's a chance you will resent your second child, or your ds might not get on with him/her, or you'll feel worse. But I would think that in your current mindset the element of uncertainty suggests a bias towards regret.

I spoke to several counsellors when I was trying to decide, and none of them said much that I found helpful, as it wasn't about them, but me and the other people involved (my now ex, who wanted me to have an abortion, my parents and friends, and ds1)

but they DI say, and this sticks out, that if you are as little as 10% unsure, that probably means you'll find it very hard to get over or at least experience considerable regret. They said, unless you KNOW in your heart, taking everything else away, that you DON'T want this child, then it will hurt you to do this and there is a risk you'll feel worse afterwards than you did before. Saying that, there are probably a lot of women who don't feel that bad and are mightily relieved afterwards!

I think when I had taken everything else out of the equation (I had HG - severe m/s) and little to no support, a child already, was single etc etc) in my heart I didn't want to abort my baby. To me it felt like drowning an unwanted kitten - the sentimental element was too strong for me to ignore, but then I am the type to pick up a hurt pigeon and take it to the vets where it usually dies anyway so thatw as partly why I felt so stupid. It wasn't a head decision for me - it was a heart one.

If in your heart you know this is right, and you'll be happier if you lay this little one to rest, then that's probably what you ought to do.

I believe you need to follow your OWN deepest feelings. And I also don't think your partner is likely to leave you over it, whatever you do. He sounds like a good bloke.

Will be thinking of you, anyway.

snowlover · 30/05/2009 16:31

Sadgirl I'm so sorry you are in such turmoil . Going for the appointment in the short term is the hardest thing you will ever have to do.It was for me. The feeling of walking into the clinic felt like some sort of like-an out of body experience( or an actor) - someone taking ownership of her body/life/future/decisions. Strange for me really as in my life always found it very difficult to make major decisions, although I realise this is totally different.Not going is in comparison taking an easier path in the short term that is. But its after that the consequences of that decision will hit home as we all know.

NationalFlight · 30/05/2009 16:34

Yes short term I was actually very, very scared of going to the clinic..of the procedure...and I knew I was starting to feel hideously angry against the people who were organising to do this to me, to my child. I would have wanted to kill them, really, had I been forced or coerced into going ahead.

So in a sense i just took the easier option at the time, which was to miss the train, stay at home, have a rest, forget about the people who were pressuring me.

As your last line says, SG, you just want to go to sleep - well, I suppose that's what I did and woke up still pregnant

Try to trust yourself.

snowlover · 30/05/2009 16:43

I agree with national. I know my circumstances were totally different to yours. But at the end of the day. You should listen to your heart and emotions and not get bogged down with practical implications as they can be mostly overcome in time.Its about you,your body/Your health and wellbeing.

RumourOfAHurricane · 30/05/2009 17:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Rhubarb · 30/05/2009 18:04

Oh I'm so so sorry. Please don't make this decision alone. I appreciate your dp is trying not to sway you, but you need support, it's not fair to land you with this decision to make all on your own. Talk to him, tell him how you feel and ask him how he feels. It's crucial that you are honest with each other right now. How much easier would it be if he were on your side? It would lessen your burden twofold.

Do you have a best friend you can confide in? It really is unfair that you have to do this alone. Please please do talk to someone. Best of luck Sadgirl, I really hope it works out for you, whatever you decide to do.

BalloonSlayer · 30/05/2009 18:27

SadGirl, I am so sorry for all that you are going through.

I have been reading for days and wanting to post, but fearing I'd fuck it up, or make you feel worse, or both.

Luckily Flight's 16:28 post puts it all so much better than I could, and I thoroughly agree with her.

You mention worrying about your DS all the time and how another baby would affect him. I think this is normal. When I had my DS1, I spent the whole pregnancy worrying about him. When I went on to get pregnant with DD, I spent the whole pregnancy worrying about DS1 . . .

(FWIW I had an unplanned PG when my eldest 2 DCs were 7 and 5, and I had finally gone back to work in a job that I adored. When I saw the pink line, my first thought was "What about my bloody job!!!" I was also worried about the emotional side - I had been borderline PND with both DCs. And when pregnant with DC3 I had AND because of - I think - the shock of the pregnancy and the trouble it caused our relationship. But I "knew my enemy" this time and was straight down the Doctors to get help; there was none of the bewilderment of before, sitting there in tears wondering what was the matter with me. DS2 is 20months now and the light of all our lives.)

Will stop now as I suspect I am not helping much.

Best of love though, will be thinking of you and sending love your way. ((Unmumsnet hug))

bubbleymummy · 30/05/2009 19:17

I really do think the worry for your first is v common when you're pregnant with your second. After my mc last year I got pregnant again last summer and we now have 11 week old DS2. I worried the whole time about how it would affect DS1 but he has been fine. There are 3 years between them so pretty much what you would have. It has been different - but good different. DS1 really seems to like DS2 already and shows him different toys and tells him stories. I think it will be nice for him to have someone to play with as he gets older and he already says he will have to show DS2 how to do his jigsaws etc when he gets older. I'm rambling a bit now but what I guess I'm trying to say is that that worry is normal even in a planned pregnancy.

BTW I didn't do a double buggy - hate the bloody things! We have the pram for DS1 if he doesn/t want to walk and a sling for DS2 - much handier!

catwalker · 30/05/2009 19:24

Sadgirl - haven't read all the posts on this thread so apologies if this has already been covered. When I found out I was pregnant with my 3rd I already had a 1yr old and a 3yr old and I was completely devastated. My DH's face fell when I told him, though he quickly tried to hide his shock. The decision about what to do was entirely mine -there was no way he was going to advise me what to do (and I think that's right really). I went to my GP, sobbed, and said I didn't know what to do. He arranged for a counsellor to come and see me. I don't know if that sort of thing is done these days (this was 10 years ago) but the counsellor really helped. I think what he did was listen, listen, listen and then give me a gentle shove in the direction he could see I was heading.

And I do agree entirely with one of the other posters - this isn't a question of a right/wrong decision. Whatever decision you make will be the right one.

differentnameforthis · 31/05/2009 02:16

Resent, SG.

chimchar · 31/05/2009 08:56

sad girl...been reading this thread and feeling your anguish so terribly....

i think that flights post (the really long one! ) makes a lot of sense.

i think that it sounds like you have lots of things going on in the background that are not dealt with...like your house not being home, your feelings about your body, your old self etc... and that becoming pg has brought them all to the forefront....

its so important to look past all of these things when you make your decision...these other issues can all be dealt with and changed for the better in time.... we are adaptable as humans, and practicalities will sort themselves out...

having children is hard work, as we all know, and my experience with my first child was horrific....i had awful pnd and carried on for 20 months until i literally fell apart...i went on to have another baby, and i was a completely different woman...i had grown in so many ways....by the time i had my third child, i had a much clearer idea of my role as a mother, had sorted my head out, and now, all is good! (i have no idea how this is meant to help you...by demonstrating i guess that each pregnancy, child, birth, after effects are different???)

anyway. i don't want to sway you one way or another....i'm clumsily offering my support in whatever decision you wish to make. xx

Sadgirl · 31/05/2009 18:00

Oh I am continually surprised that people are making the effort to post on my thread - thank you, all of you. It does make me feel less alone.

I feel like I am getting lost in all of the surrounding issues, as some of you point out, and that yes these are nothing to do with having a baby.

Rhubarb I don't really have a best friend but the person I am closest to is 26 weeks pregnant and it seem so awfully inappropriate. The other person I might normally open up to has an 8 week old baby - so again it is just the wrong topic with the wrong person.

I suppose when it comes down to it I can see that another baby is not going to bring any major problem, logistically. We have room, could just about manage financially (with caution, DP in an unstable industry)... but it comes back to being happy with what we have, feeling like I am living again, feeling a connection with DP that has been missing for too long...

This morning I thought I had made up my mind but now I can see that I still haven't I am cancelling the appointment but still unsure, I just know I can't do it while I am swaying.

Thank you all for continuing to talk to me, I cannot tell you how much I need this.

Sorry if this seems a distant, detached post, it is not intended that way, I am tired from no sleep last night (dreams, worries, someone else snoring ) and also distracted by noise, but I have to get things out

OP posts:
bubbleymummy · 31/05/2009 22:51

Hi sadgirl. Hope you can get a better night's sleep tonight. we're all here if you want to keep talking it through....

NationalFlight · 01/06/2009 07:45

Oh, SG I'm sorry you're struggling.

It might help to see how you feel this morning once the 'opportunity' has passed, and how you deal with that.

I still feel that this 'choice' we all get handed when we announce our pregnancy is unfair - it places such enormous pressure on us to make the 'right' decision, when in fact an abortion is never nice, or easy, or particularly good for ones body let alone mind...plus the idea that someone was going to make money from it disturbed me hugely. (no matter how ridiculous that sounds! They have to make a living of course and people want their help)

I do believe that most people who are pregnant have a 'wobble' about it at least, if not downright terror and feelings of 'Oh shit why the hell did I do this?'
but it's a bit like moving house in that way (and a few others) in that you invariably get the first night 'this was a huge mistake' thing, however nice your new house is, because it's not the old one iyswim.

I'm relieved that you have chosen to cancel the appt, personally, but I hope it is the right thing for YOU and not because some of us thought you should do it. I have a lot of faith in your decision making abilities based on your posts, if that helps..!

Let us know how you are, when you feel able. xx

BalloonSlayer · 01/06/2009 15:48

How are you today SadGirl?

Am thinking of you.

Plonketyplonk · 03/06/2009 09:35

Thinking of you too.

differentnameforthis · 03/06/2009 09:38

SG, how are you today? Hope you are ok, you are in my thoughts!

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