Abortion Santa Barbara – Your Journey & First Appointment

• Your Pregnancy Situation
• Abortion Help Near You
• Your First Appointment
• Contact Us

Your Pregnancy Situation

If you are on a journey towards an abortion, this is the best place to start. Where you can get informed, and then you can decide.

(This is based on real life experiences.)

You wake up in the early morning hours and you’re nauseated. You have some other unusual symptoms. You haven’t started your period. You’re sexually active. This could only mean one thing – a possible unplanned pregnancy.

You have to deal with this, quickly!

You grab your phone and search the web for “Abortion Santa Barbara”.

More than one web search result shows up, with Planned Parenthood and Network Medical Women’s Center visible in the top. Another search result mentions an ultrasound is the only way to determine a viable pregnancy, because 1 in 5 will end naturally (which is 20%).

Really? 1 in 5 will miscarry on their own? You didn’t know that.

You decide on Planned Parenthood because they get a lot of publicity. When you call to schedule your ultrasound to find out if you are actually pregnant, they say you must schedule your abortion first,…before you get an ultrasound. Say what? You wonder to yourself, how do I know I even need an abortion before I get an ultrasound?

That doesn’t sound right!  (Because it’s not.)

So, you go back to the web search results and take a look at Network Medical Women’s Center. It is women centered. And a Medical Center. That sounds comforting and valuable.

You go to the website and poke around. They get great patient reviews. They offer testing in the right order – first pregnancy testing, then ultrasound exam – to confirm if you are really pregnant, before going to the next step. This sounds more logical and unbiased than the Planned Pregnancy process. The Network Medical website information is factual and useful. It has solid medical citations, including a link to the National Institute of Health that confirms 1 in 5 women will miscarry naturally.¹

Then the Network Medical website says to try not to panic and not get ahead of yourself by taking one step at a time – first to confirm if you are pregnant. Then, if you do find out you have a viable pregnancy; the ultrasound will also tell you how far along you are, and this information will then help you know whether you are eligible for a medical abortion (abortion pill) or surgical abortion.

That’s helpful! One step at a time.

Next you see they can protect your future reproductive health by testing and treating you for the two most common STDs, Gonorrhea² and Chlamydia³. Both medical abortions and surgical abortions are invasive to a woman’s uterus. So, if you have a sexually transmitted disease (STD) during your abortion, the STD could spread and cause damage to your reproductive organs in the form of Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) which is an infection and inflammation of the uterus, ovaries, and other female reproductive organs.⁴ You don’t want that!

You have nothing to lose, and it does sound like this really is the best first step, so you fill out the 30 second Network Medical appointment request form online.

Smart move!

Patients say Network Medical looks and feels clean, professional, peaceful, and safe.

Patients say they feel much different between when they first arrive at the first pregnancy appointment at Network Medical, and when they leave.

When they first arrive, some patients say they feel kind of unsure and even anxious about what will happen during the process. Afterwards, patients say they feel respected, supported, well informed, and more confident about their next step.

All services are FREE and confidential.

Your appointment is an hour or less, however this time is flexible if you need more time. You do not get pushed through anything you do not want to do, and you have plenty of time to get all the information you need to make an informed decision.

Each step of the appointment is provided to you with your approval.

Follow up Telehealth appointments are available if you are a Network Medical patient.

Here is the process, as you walk in the Network Medical door…

A friendly receptionist greets you and gives you a cold glass of water. You fill out some brief information about your situation.

A kind and gentle Registered Nurse reviews your information and carefully listens to you, making sure she understands your situation, your feelings, and your perspective.

She explains the testing and exam process, then answers your questions as you go through the process below, with each step approved by you beforehand. You like the fact that you can accept or decline each step.

1. Pregnancy test – to confirm a positive pregnancy from a urine sample.

2. Ultrasound – to establish three important factors, which help determine if abortion is a viable option, which abortion procedure you might qualify for, and what other options are available for your situation.
   • Pregnancy viability – 1 in 5 pregnancies ends naturally, therefore a positive pregnancy test by itself is not conclusive.
   • Gestational age – how far along you are in the pregnancy.
   • Rule out ectopic pregnancy – this type of pregnancy cannot be treated by abortion or abortion pills. It requires surgery or medication treatment.⁵

3. STD Test – for the two most common STDs, Gonorrhea,² and Chlamydia³. This is to protect your future reproductive health. Both medical abortions and surgical abortions are invasive to a woman’s uterus. So, if you have a sexually transmitted disease (STD) during your abortion, the STD could spread and cause damage to your reproductive organs in the form of Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) which is an infection and inflammation of the uterus, ovaries, and other female reproductive organs.⁴

4. Review the facts and your pregnancy options – including getting your questions answered and your concerns addressed. All of this is important for you to make an informed decision.

• You receive medically accurate facts about abortion types, procedures, risks, possible complications, how long recovery takes, and more.
• You receive important medical facts including crucial risks like the documented abortion pill warnings that the U.S. Government outlines in the U.S. FDA Risk Management program.⁶
• You receive Patient Rights information and an Abortion Health and Safety Checklist to guide you and help you remember important points. We will offer information about Informed Consent.

You can then make your informed decision about what to do next. We inform. You decide.

Network Medical is readily available to you if you have any other questions or need more information during your next steps.

Here is how we will treat you well.

• Respect for your needs and particular situation.
• Patient and caring professionals listen to you and care about you.
• Your fears, concerns, and questions are addressed with respect and no judgement.
• You don’t feel rushed – you receive plenty of time in your appointment.
• We do not automatically assume you want an abortion or any other option, but we first assess your medical information and test results, and then discuss all your pregnancy options with you, for you to decide.
• You receive additional resources that may be useful to you, based on your questions and the discussion during your appointment.