Her Choice Women's Clinic Logo
Her Choice Women's Clinic Logo

Orange County Abortion Providers

Many women in Orange County are faced with a pregnancy that is unintended.

Ending the pregnancy is sometimes the hard choice that they have to make. This is a difficult process, and we aim to help as much as possible.

In order to relieve some of the anxiety of the unknown, we have provided some information on what to expect when visiting our facility. For more information about our abortion services, or to schedule an appointment, call 714-966-9094.

non std vaginal infections
Abortion Providers Whittier, Norwalk, La Habra

Preparations to Make Prior to Visiting Our Abortion Center

  • Eat a light meal, or just a liquid diet on the morning prior to visiting us. You will not be put under general anesthesia for the procedure. Therefore, fasting is not a requirement. However, you may fast if you want if you already feel nauseous from being pregnant. Do not eat a heavy meal, because some of the medications that we will give you can cause nausea. Having a light stomach makes it less likely to vomit.

  • Drink a lot of water the day prior to the scheduled day and that morning if possible. Having a lot of water in the body keeps you well hydrated and the veins more readily accessible. This makes a blood draw easier for you.

  • If possible, arrange for a driver to drop you off and pick you up. Having a ride is not absolutely necessary, but preferable. Again since general anesthesia will not be given for the surgical abortion, mind-altering drugs will not be in the system. This means that driving is usually possible afterward since a local anesthetic is given. However, without a driver a sedative cannot be given, which is recommended to help relieve anxiety.

  • Wear comfortable and loose-fitting clothing. Afterward, cramping is normal. Having tight clothes makes the crams a little worse. This way you will be as comfortable as possible prior to leaving the clinic.

  • Feel free to bring in a private music listening device with an earpiece, such as an i-pod. Many of our patients prefer to listen to music during the surgical abortion and while waiting in the lobby. We use a special silent machine, so the procedure is actually very quick and quiet. However, a private music device is an excellent way to help you relax and relieve some of the natural stress.

  • Take off a couple of days from work or school. Postoperative recovery from abortion is indeed very quick, and most people resume normal activity within a couple of days. Nevertheless, taking a few days off to relax is probably a good idea. Although most can return to work in a couple of days (assuming it is not manual work), taking some extra time may be advisable. We can provide you with a medical release from work or school if you require it.

Privacy and Confidentiality at Our Clinic

Since this is a very private matter, we strive to make it available with as much privacy and confidentiality as possible. Our staff is sensitive to such needs during the process. Our clinic location is in a private part of our building, and its location affords our patients greater privacy.

Also, the building is located on a large private lot, which does not allow for protestors to be close by to harass women seeking termination at the clinic. In fact, to date, we have never had any protestors at our center. You should know that if you choose to visit our women’s clinic, you need not worry about confidentiality, privacy, or harassment from anyone.

Our provider offers pregnancy termination for the first trimester and part of the second trimester, until 16 weeks of pregnancy gestation. The procedure is performed in a safe and private room in our clinic.

The medical pill mifepristone or Mifeprex is also an option for pregnancy termination. It is available for anyone that wants to avoid the surgery. However, it is only an option only in the early part of the first trimester, up to 9 weeks.

Clinics serving Whittier, Norwalk, La Habra

Our medical center is in Santa Ana. We service patients from all of Southern California and Orange County, such as Anaheim, Fountain Valley, Buena Park, Tustin, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Irvine, Long Beach, Lakewood, Norwalk, Downey, Costa Mesa, Long Beach, Seal, and Huntington Beach, Westminster, Whittier, Norwalk, La Habra, Yorba Linda.

Dignity, respect, compassion, affordability, without judgement. 

Our core value is one of respect, inclusiveness, and empathy.

We are a community women’s clinic and abortion center that provides low cost, affordable reproductive health care for the women of Southern California, located in Santa Ana, Orange County.

Surgical Abortion Process

Prior to the cervical dilation process, a local anesthetic is given to numb the cervix and minimize discomfort. Lidocaine is circumferentially injected around the cervix, providing a cervical block of the nerves that arise from the cervix. We do not recommend general anesthesia (going to sleep), because inducing severe sedation can jeopardize the body’s normal reflexes and cause loss of breathing, which is potentially dangerous. Since the procedure is relatively quick and minor, the safest way to achieve pregnancy elimination by is with local anesthesia.

During this process, the cervix has to be opened in order to obtain access to the uterus. This can be accomplished via mechanical means, chemical means, or both.

Dilators are utilized to physically open the cervix sequentially, starting at a low caliper and slowly moving upwards. Laminaria are small objects that also open the cervix mechanically, and are made of a type of seaweed plant. Prostaglandin is utilized to soften and open the cervix chemically. The amount of dilation depends on the gestation of the pregnancy. The further along the pregnancy, the higher the caliper of dilation in order to be able to terminate it.

A small curette (plastic catheter) is then passed into the uterus, and using suction, the contents of the uterus are evacuated.

Surgical Abortion FAQ

The cost depends on the age of the conception. It is lowest whenever it is less than 9 weeks of pregnancy (up to 9 weeks from the first day of the last menstrual period). After that, the cost increases for each additional week. It is best to call us at 714-966-9094 to get a more exact cost. On the day of your visit we will have to perform an ultrasound to determine the exact age of the conception. The fee is all inclusive, and includes the cost of blood work, medications administered during the procedure, ultrasound examination, local anesthesia, as well as post operative follow up visit.

As with any surgery, it does carry some risk. Although terminations are usually very safe, there is a small risk of infection, bleeding, uterine perforation, blood transfusion, hospitalization, hysterectomy, sterility, or even death. However, the risks of such events are low, and in experienced hands are very low. Such risks must be weighed against the risks of continuing the conception, which carries risks that are similar or higher in likelihood. The risks for the pill are less, which is the reason we recommend it over the surgery if you are early enough and a candidate to take it.

The answer is possibly, although highly unlikely. If one of the above complications occurr, there is an increased likelihood of infertility in the future. However, since such events are rare, the likelihood of future infertility is also rare

In most cases, mild cramps and slight vaginal bleeding is the extent of all that is expected afterwards. Some discomfort and cramping is normal, as is some bleeding. The bleeding usually lightens significantly or ceases within 2-3 weeks. If the bleeding is heavier than a period, or lasts longer than 3 weeks, you should seek an evaluation by us. If the pain is severe, or you notice heavy discharge or fevers or chills, contact us.

The typical options include general and local anesthesia. General anesthesia presents a higher risk of death, aspiration pneumonia, uterine perforation, and vaginal bleeding. Therefore, for safety reasons, we do not offer general anesthesia. We have found that local anesthesia is safer and provides adequate pain relief during the process. Local anesthesia is sometimes combined with a mild sedative / tranquilizer, and provides adequate pain relief.

It is best to be accompanied by another adult, and ideally to have that adult be able to drive you. We do not recommend that you drive, walk home, or take the bus by yourself.

You may have someone accompany you while in the waiting lobby. However, we request that only one support person accompany each patient. Also, both for safety as well as confidentiality reasons, non-patients are not permitted in the recovery area or procedure room.

The actual surgical procedure takes no more than 30 minutes. However, preparing you for the procedure takes much longer, since a history and exam must be performed, as well as paperwork, blood work, an ultrasound, and time to observe you afterwards. The bulk of the time spent is allowing the pre-operative medications, including antibiotics and those that prepare the uterus to take effect. All together, plan on spending at least 5-6 hours at our medical clinic if you plan to have the surgical procedure.

A follow up visit is always recommended between 3 to 4 weeks later. This is necessary to ensure that it was successful, as well as to address any problems that may have arisen. Occasionally, some pregnancy tissue may have been retained, and this needs to be evacuated. Therefore, a follow up visit at our medical clinic is very important to ensure that the unplanned pregnancy has completely resolved without any problems.

Although we welcome walk-in patients and try to accommodate them as much as possible, we cannot guarantee that they will be seen that day. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you obtain an appointment.

Her Choice Women's Clinic Logo

Low cost, affordable reproductive health care

Her Choice Women's Clinic

We are a community women’s clinic and abortion center that provides low cost, affordable reproductive health care for the women of Southern California, located in Santa Ana, and Orange County.

Contact Us

Information

Her Choice Women’s Clinic is an abortion clinic located in Santa Ana, California that offers the abortion pill, birth control services, free pregnancy test and free STD testing treatment as well as many other abortion and sexual health services. We provide abortion care services to Santa Ana, Anaheim, Irvine, Corona, Riverside, Fontana, San Bernardino, Yorba Linda, Placentia, Fullerton, Newport, Long Beach, Huntington Beach, Downey, Whittier, Norwalk, La Hambra, Bellflower, Cerritos, Lakewood, Cypress, Garden Grove, Fountain Valley, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Tustin, Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Diego, Oceanside, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills, Los Angeles, Temecula, Buena Park, Orange County, Covina, CA. We also serve out of state patients from Tucson & Phoenix, Arizona as well as patients from Austin, Dallas, & San Antonio, Texas
Call Now Button