What to do if you’re pregnant

Charlotte Miller contraception, pregnancy and abortion, sexual health

An unexpected pregnancy can be a stressful experience. If you’re worried you might be pregnant, here’s some information

If you think you’re pregnant, you may feel surprised, happy, or sad. All feelings are normal and valid. No matter how you’re feeling, there’s a lot to think about, so here’s a handy step-by-step guide to help you make a decision on your next steps.

First things first – how do I get pregnant?

Sometimes young people may worry they’re pregnant, but they haven’t actually had the type of sex that can lead to pregnancy. You can’t get pregnant from kissing, touching, or oral sex. You can only get pregnant if semen from a penis comes into direct contact with the vagina. This may occur if you have penis-in-vagina sex without using contraception or if your contraception failed, such as the condom breaking.

There’s lots more detail on the NHS website.

The emergency contraceptive pill (EC pill)

It’s important to remember that time really matters, when determining whether or not you might be pregnant. It can be a few weeks after having unprotected sex before you will be able to tell if you are pregnant. This means that if you had unprotected sex in the last couple of days, you can still take steps to prevent a pregnancy – if that’s what you want.

If your contraception failed or you had unprotected sex in the last five days, you can normally prevent pregnancy by taking the emergency contraceptive pill – often referred to as the ‘morning after pill’. This works by preventing or delaying ovulation, which reduces the possibility of a pregnancy.

There are two types to choose from: Levonelle or ellaOne. Levonelle can be taken within 3 days of having unprotected sex, and ellaOne can be taken within 5 days of having unprotected sex. However, the sooner you take it, the more effective it will be – so if you don’t want to be pregnant, you should look into this as soon as possible.

If you want to take emergency contraception, you can get it for free from the NHS at your local sexual health clinic, GPs, NHS walk-in centres, and some pharmacies. Some doctors and GUM clinics are also able to fit an intrauterine device (IUD) as an emergency contraceptive measure. Here’s our list of all the places you can access emergency contraception.

Pregnancy tests

The most common first sign of a pregnancy is a missed period. So, if you’ve had unprotected penis-in-vagina sex, and then missed your period, you may be pregnant. It’s very unlikely, but there is a small chance you could get pregnant even if you took the emergency contraceptive pill (as it is not 100% effective) so be sure to take a pregnancy test if you’re worried about a missed period.

You can buy pregnancy tests from most pharmacies, or you can go to your doctor or a GUM clinic to get a pregnancy test. It’s best to take the test three weeks after unprotected sex, or once your period is late, to get an accurate result. If the test displays a negative result, you probably aren’t pregnant. Pregnancy hormones develop over time, so if you’re still worried, you can do another test a week later to check the result.

If you get a positive result, you are almost definitely pregnant. False positives can occur, but they are highly unlikely. If you’re pregnant, we recommend that you make an appointment with a GP to discuss your options.

You’re pregnant: what can you do?

If you’re pregnant, you have several options to choose from:

Parenting: continue the pregnancy, give birth, and raise the child
Adoption: continue the pregnancy, give birth, and give the child to someone else
Abortion: end the pregnancy

Deciding what to do may be difficult and take some time, and this is totally okay. You’re not alone, and there is plenty of support and advice on hand to help you make a decision. It’s important that you consider all your options, so talking to your friends, family, and healthcare professionals may help. It may seem scary to talk to your parents about your pregnancy, but it may also be really helpful. Some parents will be upset or shocked, while others will be understanding. Often parents become more understanding with time, and can be a really helpful support for you.

Ultimately it is your choice to decide what to do next, and no one should feel pressure to make a certain decision. You know what is the best option for you, and whatever you decide is the right choice.