Foreword: When my husband and I found out we were pregnant with our son, we weren’t that thrilled. We already had a daughter and we were happy with the way things were. But we decided to keep the baby anyway. As much as I wasn’t ecstatic about the pregnancy, I still wanted this one, but no more. Two was enough (almost more than enough) for us. While I was pregnant with him, my husband saw the doctor about getting a vasectomy and they said they wouldn’t do it until after the child was born in case something happened and we wanted to try again. So my husband called the clinic, every week, for four months after he was born and they never returned his phone calls.
I was on the nuvaring and for some reason the hormones didn’t seem to be right for my body so I made an appointment to see my OB/GYN and have an IUD put in because regular birth control pills I often forget to take. They of course had to run a pregnancy test on me before they can insert the IUD, so I went up for my appointment and found out that the doctor couldn’t do it. I was pregnant. I’m not usually one for crying, but I spent 45 minutes in her office in tears because I really did not want this child. We were having a hard enough time financially with just two.
I finally regained my composure enough to drive home. When I got there my husband asked if they did it and I couldn’t even speak. All I could do was shake my head no. When he asked “Why not?” I burst into tears again as I told him I was pregnant. At this point I wasn’t sure what I should do. I don’t have the patience to raise a third child, especially two so close in age. I’m not strong enough to carry a child for nine months and then give it to someone else, I’d want to keep it. Not to mention, my 2-year-old would know “There’s a baby in mommy’s belly.” I couldn’t have her wondering where it was when I came home from the hospital. An abortion was my last and most logical choice.
With the support of my husband, my parents, and my best friend, I researched everything I could on the Internet and found the clinic that was right for me just 30 minutes from my house. Everyone was polite and very informative. The procedure itself was relatively quick and painless. I was afraid I would leave the clinic a little upset about my decision but I didn’t. I walked out with my head held high, confident that I made the right choice for me and my family. And I am definitely not sorry.
