For women who choose to end their pregnancy, medication abortion is a safe and effective alternative procedure for surgical abortion.
Benefits of the abortion pill are:
- It can occur as early as women find out that they are pregnant
- No anesthesia required
- Less invasive than surgical abortion
- It usually costs way less than surgical abortion
- Medical abortion doesn’t carry the same risks of the uterine perforation
- Medical abortion may feel like a natural process
- It happens in a home environment
- For 95 to 98% of pregnancies up to 10-12 weeks, no further treatment is needed after a woman takes two doses of the abortion medication
Procedure
The medication abortion procedure involves using two pills – mifepristone and misoprostol, instead of the surgical procedure to end a pregnancy. Unlike surgical abortion, medication procedure doesn’t have to take place in a clinic. It can be performed in a home environment as soon as the pregnancy is seen in an ultrasound.
The first pill that should be taken is mifepristone, and the second one is misoprostol. The use of these two medications together will increase the effectiveness of the abortion procedure. It can also reduce the duration of the side effects.
Women eligible for the medication abortion
Women that are under 10 to 12 weeks pregnant are eligible to take this kind of abortion. If you are more than 12 weeks into pregnancy and would like to terminate it, you may opt for a surgical abortion. Women with some pre-existing medical conditions might not be eligible for the medication abortion.
Women that may not be allowed to undergo a medical abortion are:
- Women with some existing diseases or physical conditions, such as severe anemia
- Women using an IUD
- Women that have strong allergies to some medications
- Women with an ectopic pregnancy
- Women with liver, kidney or heart problems
- Women with bleeding disorders
- Women with severe adrenal gland problems
- Women having a molar pregnancy, where the placenta develops abnormally
Effectiveness of a medication abortion
This type of abortion is considered as very effective. After taking both Misoprostol and Mifepristone, the abortion will have around 98% effectiveness rate. What can impact the effectiveness of medication abortion are the medication doses and administration, the age of the pregnancy, and whether or not a woman has already been pregnant before. You should keep in mind that each additional week of pregnancy decreases the effectiveness rate.
Recovery
Women that decide to undergo a medical abortion are usually experiencing cramping and bleeding, which lasts up to two weeks after the procedure. Most women will end their pregnancy a couple of hours to a day after taking the second abortion pill. You shouldn’t worry, it’s normal to experience some light bleeding, cramping, and spotting for a few weeks following a medication abortion.
The nurse or doctor will advise you on taking care of yourself after the abortion. That may include using anti-inflammatory medication to manage the cramps. Also, massaging and hot packs on the painful area can be helpful.
The risk of serious bleeding effects or infection for women that undergo a medication abortion is less than 1%. Also, a medication abortion procedure doesn’t have any lasting effects on a woman’s body, and will not keep you from getting pregnant again in the future. And what’s most important It doesn’t pose any major effects on your general health.
It’s recommended to undergo counseling before you decide to end your pregnancy. Good information is what can really help you to make a decision that would be the best for your health and well being. Our caring professionals at Aastra Women’s Center will answer any questions you have, provide you with accurate information about your options, give you the expert care and non-judgmental support along the way.
