What Is a Medication Abortion? Everything You Need to Know.
Medication abortions involve the use of medications to end pregnancies.
These pills stop the pregnancy from continuing to develop and cause the uterus to empty itself, thereby ending the pregnancy.
Medication abortion is a safe and efficient procedure that has been used for many years.
How do abortion pills work?
The majority of medication abortions need the administration of two different medications: mifepristone and misoprostol.
Mifepristone stops a pregnancy from growing, and misoprostol causes the uterus to shed its lining and empty itself.
It works as an antiprogestin which blocks the body from making or using progesterone properly and thus helps to end a pregnancy.
Misoprostol on the other hand softens the cervix.
The abortion itself may feel like a heavy period with cramping and bleeding. You may also pass large blood clots.
The process takes about 4-5 hours after taking the second medication. Although milder cramping and bleeding may continue for about 1-2 days.
How effective are abortion pills?
They are highly effective in ending pregnancies.
However, the longer the pregnancy period, the less effective the medication
Effectiveness appears to start waning after 12 weeks.
Combination of mifepristone and misoprostol
Research shows that using both mifepristone and misoprostol at 12 weeks or less of gestation completely ends pregnancy 95–99% of the time.
If you’ve been pregnant for 9 weeks or less, self-managing an abortion using both pills is no less effective than a clinician-supported abortion.
For people who can’t obtain both medications, using misoprostol alone is also effective
Is medication abortion safe?
Medical abortion is thought to be very safe. Only 2% of medication abortions have problems, and most of those are minor.
According to a recent study, of the 13,000 women who had medication abortions over five years, only 6 women required hospitalization
Potential risks and complications
It’s normal to experience pain, bleeding, low fever, and gastrointestinal upset for a few days after your abortion but serious complications are rare.
Excessive bleeding might last for a long time
Other risks are blood clots in the uterus, incomplete abortion, fever, infection, allergic reaction to the medications, diarrhea, and digestive pain.
Some incomplete abortions can be treated with another dose of misoprostol while others may require surgical intervention.
Who shouldn’t choose a medication abortion?
People whose pregnancies are 12 weeks or less are eligible to end a pregnancy using pills.
However, medication abortion may be unsafe for people with certain health conditions like a chronic adrenal failure, anemia, ectopic pregnancy, inherited porphyrias, and intolerance or allergy to mifepristone or misoprostol
Also, if you have an intrauterine device, you should not use abortion pills until it is removed
What does recovery after a medication abortion entail?
After an abortion, you may experience painful cramping and bleeding, as well as nausea and diarrhea or vomiting.
So it’s best to take a day or two off work, school, or other activities if possible.
You should also avoid heavy lifting or intense exercise for at least a week.
Get enough rest, and consider taking warm baths or using a heating pad on your abdomen to help relieve any pain.
It might be a good idea to take a pregnancy test to confirm that the abortion is complete.
