Breanna is a young mother of four children whose mother pressured her to abort her fifth child, an unplanned pregnancy.
Breanna shared her story in an email exchange with Pregnancy Help News.
“I went back and forth wanting to raise another child, panicking that I would have a total of five children at only 25 years old,” she said. “I faced a lot of pressure to get an abortion from my mother.”
“Out of fear of disappointing my mother I took the first dose of the abortion pills,” she added.
Breanna said she immediately felt regret when she consumed that first pill.
“I instantly regretted it,” she said. “I sobbed in bed for hours looking at the clock counting down the hours until I had to take the second set of pills.”
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Breanna said she concluded that in pressuring her over the abortion her mother was treating her as though she was still a child.
“I decided that I was no longer a child and could keep my baby if I wanted to,” Breanna said. “After talking to my husband, he helped me clear my mind from this overwhelming situation.”
Like so many women who regret their initial decision to take the abortion pill, Breanna turned to the internet. She searched what happens when the second pill is not taken.
“Then APR (Abortion Pill Reversal) was one of the first things that popped up,” she said.
The first pill in a chemical abortion, mifepristone, decreases the progesterone in the pregnancy, while the second pill, misoprostol, then causes uterine contractions, causing the mother to deliver her deceased child.
The APR protocol is simply a dose of progesterone, followed by additional doses, to replenish what was lost with the mifepristone, combatting its effects. A 2018 peer-reviewed study showed positive results for Abortion Pill Reversal. This included 64%-68% of the pregnancies saved through APR, no increase in birth defects, and a lower preterm delivery rate than the general population. Statistics show that 5,000 lives and counting have been saved through the Abortion PIll Rescue Network.
Breanna was sent to a pregnancy center where she obtained an ultrasound. She was sad, she said, because she was very early in gestation, and the pregnancy could not be seen in the scan. Breanna had to return later.
“The hardest part is the wait to see if things are moving along,” she said. “A few ultrasound scans later, I got a referral to an amazing OB-GYN who did not judge me and provided really good care for me and my baby.”
Breanna said the moment she saw her baby on the screen was one she will never forget.
Tweet This: The moment she saw her baby on the screen was one she will never forget - mom who save her baby with Abortion PIll Reversal
“After my third ultrasound I could finally see a tiny, tiny baby,” she told Pregnancy Help News.
“My heart filled with love and excitement,” Breanna said. “I was so thankful for those who helped me save my child. I wish I could go back and introduce my beautiful baby boy to those who worked fast to help him make it into this world.”
Breanna delivered her son Diego at 37 weeks.
She continued to receive help from the pregnancy center, including material items and emotional support.
Breanna said she had no idea APR existed until she was in that moment of panic.
She said she hopes more women can become aware now that she is sharing her story.
Breanna has advice for any woman thinking about taking the abortion pill.
“I would say it's scary,” she said. “Please don't rush and take It out of fear of judgment from others. Don't take it to make another person happy. Especially think twice if you're doing it because someone else thinks that's what is best for you.”
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) and Pregnancy Help News. Heartbeat is currently the subject of two lawsuits brought by state AGs concerning sharing information about Abortion Pill Reversal.