關於墮胎我們需要知道的事

Abortion is a divisive issue, and a topic that women can feel reluctant being open about.
墮胎是一個衆說紛紜的話題，女性可能不太願意提及。

“It is almost a 'silent secret' which women may only find out about if it is brought up openly with friends and colleagues,” says Dr Anne Henderson. “The other issue is that most people are much less judgemental towards women who have had an abortion than might be expected, and there is some evidence that the procedure is much more accepted within society than it has been in the past.”
“這幾乎是個‘無聲的祕密’，女人可能只會跟朋友和同事提起，”安妮•亨德森博士說道。“另一方面其實大多數人對墮胎的女人很少會批判，有證據表明現在社會對這個過程的接受度已經比過去好多了。”

So, if there isn’t an adequate conversation happening about what the realities of an abortion are like, what would the healthcare professionals want their would-be patients to know?
那麼，如果對流產的現狀沒有適當溝通，專業的醫務人員希望他們的潛在病人知道什麼呢？

Dr Senior starts with the basics. Firstly, terminations are in one of two ways: medical or surgical. “The medical involves taking one tablet then going home for 48 hours," she says ,"In that time women may experience cramps and bleeding. After 48 hours they come back to hospital and have either a single tablet, usually given as a vaginal pessary, or a course of tablets, depending on how many weeks pregnant they are.
西尼爾博士從最基礎的說起。首先，終止妊娠有兩種方法：藥物或者手術。“藥物墮胎就是吃一片藥，然後回家待48小時，”她說“這段時間裏，女性會經歷痙攣和出血。48小時之後，她們回醫院吃另一片藥，然後拿到一個陰道藥栓或者一個療程的藥，這取決於她們懷孕幾周。”

“In many units, women under nine weeks are given a single tablet and are welcome to go home as long as they have someone with them who knows what is happening and can easily return to hospital if they need to. The surgical termination involves having a general anaesthetic then the cervix is dilated and any pregnancy tissue is removed using suction.”
“許多單位會給懷孕9周以內墮胎的女性一個片劑，讓她們回家，只要有一個知道會發生什麼並且能在需要的時候把她送回來的人陪同就行。手術墮胎是全身麻醉然後擴張子宮口，吸出所有妊娠組織。”

Both have similar side effects, she goes on, with the most common being bleeding and cramping pain. Infections in the womb are also common because the cervix is artificially opened during the procedure.
這兩種方法有類似的副作用，她接着說，最常見的就是出血和絞痛。由於術中宮頸被人爲打開，子宮感染也是常見問題。

“Less common problems include the procedure leaving some tissue behind," she adds. "This would present itself as ongoing heavy bleeding and pain usually. There is also a small risk of preterm labour in future pregnancies because we artificially open the cervix and it can become incompetent in the future but this is a small risk, especially for women who have only one termination. Surgical procedures also carry a risk of making a small hole in the wall of the womb. These heal quickly and rarely cause long term problems.”
“不常見的問題包括手術時留下了一些組織，”她補充道。“這通常會導致嚴重的出血和絞痛。還有將來懷孕時早產的風險，因爲手術時人爲擴開宮頸口會導致以後沒有收縮的能力，但這種風險很小，尤其是對於只墮過一次胎的女性。手術過程中也可能帶來風險，會在子宮內壁留下小洞。不過會很快癒合，不會造成長期問題。”

However, she is also surprised by how little understood the different reasons for terminations are, and how women from all socioeconomic backgrounds seek such procedures out. Financial hardship, the relationship with the father, and mental health issues can all play a role, as well as the health of the baby.
然而，她很驚訝人們對於墮胎不同原因的理解非常缺乏，以及在這種社會經濟背景下，女性是如何找到墮胎途徑的。經濟困難，與孩子父親的關係以及心理健康問題都會起到一定的作用，也會影響孩子的健康