Abortion is a serious medical decision with the potential for lasting physical and mental effects. The two types of abortion methods are medical and surgical.
Which method of abortion you have is determined by the length of your pregnancy (gestational age).
Before You Contact An Abortion Clinic
Finding out how long you’ve been pregnant is essential. Do you know when your pregnancy started? The date of the first day of your last menstrual period can provide an estimate of the length.
You also need to know if your pregnancy is viable (growing with a detectable heartbeat) or if you’ve had a miscarriage. The Mayo Clinic states up to 20% of known pregnancies end in a natural miscarriage.
The percentage of miscarriages is possibly higher than 20% because most happen before a woman knows she is pregnant.
Free Ultrasound
Before contacting an abortion clinic, get an ultrasound to confirm that the pregnancy is in the uterus, and that there is a heartbeat present (to show a pregnancy that’s progressing).tell you how long you’ve been pregnant and whether or not you’ve miscarried. At A Women’s Pregnancy Center, we offer free ultrasounds if you get a positive result with one of our pregnancy tests.
Medication Abortion
Abortions using medication only, such as the abortion pill method, are approved by the FDA up to 10 weeks and 0 days. The Mayo Clinic recommends not attempting a medical abortion past nine weeks.
The Abortion Pill
The abortion pill method uses two drugs, mifepristone, and misoprostol, to end a pregnancy. When a woman gets pregnant, her body produces extra progesterone to help her pregnancy grow. The first drug in the abortion pill procedure blocks progesterone from being absorbed in the uterus, which terminates the pregnancy.
The second drug, misoprostol, causes bleeding and contractions to expel the pregnancy through the vagina.
Potential risks and side effects include heavy and prolonged bleeding, nausea and vomiting, infection, and incomplete abortion.
Surgical Abortion
The gestational age of your pregnancy determines the type of surgical abortion procedure you receive. Surgical or procedural abortions include “vacuum aspiration,” “dilation and curettage” (D&C), and “dilation and evacuation” (D&E).
Vacuum aspiration uses suction for early first-trimester surgical abortions. According to the Mayo Clinic, a D & C uses small instruments or medication to open (dilate) the cervix. Both suction and a sharp tool called a curette to remove the pregnancy tissue.
Laws regarding how far into a pregnancy a person can have an abortion vary by state. If you are 14 weeks or more pregnant in some states, you may have a dilation and evacuation (D&E).
Your abortion provider dilates your cervix and evacuates the uterus with suction, a curette, and extraction forceps.
Potential side effects and risks include uterine perforation, a damaged cervix, scar tissue on the uterine wall, and infection.
Are You Considering Abortion?
Schedule an appointment at A Women’s Pregnancy Center for a pre-abortion assessment. Though we do not provide abortions at our Center, we are a great step one to provide accurate information prior to an abortion decision. Take advantage of our free pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, options counseling, and ultrasound to get the information you need.
We can sit down and chat about the different abortion procedures and the other options for your pregnancy. We care about you and your health. Our caring team is here to help you!.