Submitted by: Li

I went into Planned Parenthood in Bleecker Street, NYC absolutely terrified. I’ve been to this location before — the staff is nice and non judgemental, so I knew this is where I would go for my procedure.

After checking in I went and got a sonogram to check how far along I actually was (7 weeks 1 day). I was then called into counseling, where the procedure was explained to me thoroughly and questions were asked.

They gave me ibuprofen to help with discomfort. I chose to not be sedated or put under local anesthesia. Best choice I made. I was the only one in the recovery room who looked relatively normal, not nauseous and I was let go within in 15 mins.

The actual procedure was truly over before I knew it. I walked in and told the doctor I was terrified. She reassured me every step of the way. Her lovely assistant even held my hand. It felt like getting a pap smear. They insert the speculum, then dilate your cervix, and this is when you start feeling pressure and cramps. There is no noise and all I felt was a slight tug. The pain was about a 5. I was able to breathe through it. Towards the end the cramps intensified a little bit. The last one being a 6. It was truly over in about 3 minutes. I was given a heat pad and taken to recovery. I would a 100% do it without the anesthesia. You can handle the pain if you take deep breaths.