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Ending a pregnancy for fetal abnormality

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5-7 years since pregnancy ended

Interview 22

Interview 22

Age at Interview: 31
Sex: Female
Background: Pregnancy ended in 2000. No. of children at time of interview: [1] + 1. Age of other child: 2. Occupations: Mother - nurse, Father: company director. Marital status: married. Ethnic background: White British.

Brief outline:Her 1st pregnancy: some bleeding and sickness, scan at 7 weeks confirmed pregnancy. 12-week scan normal. Triple test at 19 weeks, found raised AFP levels. 20-week scan identified hole in baby's heart and shortened limbs. Specialist scan found 2 holes in heart and abnormalities in limbs, bowel and brain- sent for amniocentesis. Pregnancy ended by induction at 21 weeks. She has had another baby since termination.

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Looking back she realises that she put her husband under strain because she was so determined to get pregnant again after the termination.
Print He was putting on a brave face for me. And I was desperate to get pregnant again and that was the most important thing to me. And month after month I didn't. And I think that was a strain on my husband as well, worrying that physically I wasn't back to normal, mentally I wasn't, and I wanted a baby and it wasn't happening. So I think my husband was just, I think he felt bad himself but his main concern was me, again he just was worried about me. And we spoke about things and it brought us closer together, definitely. And it made us appreciate things more. And it made me a lot more sympathetic towards other people and made me realise that things aren't always straightforward. And you just, I just think it did, we did realise how lucky we were in a lot of ways. And now it makes us realise how lucky we are that we've got our son.

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