Abortion

Unwanted pregnancy can put a lot of stress on the physical and mental health of a woman. In such situation, Termination of Pregnancy (TOP) or abortion can be a blessing for her. The termination can be safely performed till the end of second trimester as per state Law. There are two types of procedures available for Termination of Pregnancy.
● Medical Abortion: Use of medicines for termination of pregnancy upto 10 weeks or 70
days.
● Surgical Abortion: Use of surgical methods for termination of pregnancy

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Q & A Abortion

Q1. For how much period of pregnancy, these regimens are effective? According to guidelines by Food and Drug Administration of United States, these regimens are highly effective and should be used for termination of pregnancy of less than 70 days.

Q2. Is medical abortion painful? The pain associated with medical abortion is varied but one should expect some degree of mild to moderate abdominal pain depending on their pain threshold and the gestational age of the pregnancy.

Q3. How much would it cost to procure a medical abortion? The price of a medical abortion would depend on the center where the abortion is carried out, the type of abortion that is done and the gestational age of the pregnancy.

Q4. Would my insurance cover for my medical abortion? Most insurance companies would cover a medical abortion but it is always important to check with your insurance company just to be sure.

Q5. What is the Legal side of a medical abortion? Minors would generally require their parent’s consent, but it is also important to find out about abortion laws relevant to your state of residence.

Q6. What is the Legal side of a medical abortion? Minors would generally require their parent’s consent, but it is also important to find out about abortion laws relevant to your state of residence.

Q7. What is the role of anti-D in medical abortion? Women who are rhesus negative would need to receive this anti-D immunoglobulin after a medical abortion to prevent miscarriages in subsequent pregnancies.

Q8. What happens after taking the second tablet? After taking the second tablet, you may feel abdominal cramps and the product of pregnancy starts coming out with blood. But there is no need to freak out. You can take a pain killer and let the pill do its work.

Q9. Should I take a bath after abortion? Consult your doctor for this matter. You may not be advised to take the bath immediately. This is to prevent water entering the exposed area and prevent infection due to it.

Q10. Should I do a pregnancy test after abortion? You can do that. But always remember that it may take 40-60 days before the pregnancy test becomes negative. So if you will do it immediately, you will get positive result.

Q11. What about the confidentiality of the procedure? If you are doing abortion with qualified doctors and nurses, they will always maintain their patients’ confidentiality. There is no need of worry about your information being leaked out.

Q12. How effective medical abortion can be? It is said that medical abortion is more effective than surgical abortion in the early pregnancy. For pregnancy of less then 7 weeks old, this method will be 98% effective. After that the effectiveness will decrease, but still remains as high as 95%.

Q13. Is it necessary to maintain the duration between two pills? Yes. Mifepristone and methotrexate need some time for their work. Only after that the misoprostol will be effective in expulsing all the content. So you need to keep some distance between two pills.

Q14. Are there any other regimens available for medical abortion? There are Alternative regimens available, but less used. Sometimes single pills are also used. But the studies have shown them to be much less effective about 70-85% than the combination.

Q15. What pain killers I can take after medical abortion? For mild to moderate pain, you can take Tylenol (500-1000 mg). If pain is more you may take ibuprofen (200-600 mg). In very severe cases, even codeine is prescribed.

Q16. How would I know if I have pelvic infection after abortion? If you have fever, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea,Lower abdominal pain after medical abortion, you can suspect infection. You should immediately contact a doctor as this is a dangerous condition to be in.

Q17. What if medical abortion fails? If medical abortion fails, it can be followed by repeat medical or surgical abortion. There are not enough evidences available to show that abortion pills can cause anomaly in embryo except for methotrexate.

Her Smart Choice	Planned Parenthood
Same Day Appointments Available	Usually have to wait 2 to 3 weeks for an appointment
Physician Available 7/24 for questions and phone consult	Difficult to reach any Staff
Minimal Waiting time under 1 hour	Usually takes upto 3 to 4 hours
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Low income eligibility for Free Abortion pill done within 30 minutes	Patient have to spend more than 4 hours to determine they are eligible
Walk-ins Patients Welcome at all times	You need appointment to be seen

How this regimen is used (FDA regimen)

It requires 3 days and at least 2 visits to a clinic are required for this method.

Day 1

During initial visit, history is taken and examination of the woman is done followed by pre- abortion counselling and investigations. Once the consent is obtained and contraindications are excluded, a tablet containing 200 mg of Mifepristone (RU-486) is given orally to the woman and advised to re-visit on day 2-or 3

Day 2 0r 3

She is given the second tablet containing misoprostol (800 microgram) on day 2 or 3 at clinic. Usually following consumption of second tablet, there will be bleeding from vagina and cramps will be felt in the abdomen. This is due to contraction of uterus and expulsion of aborted products of pregnancy. Antibiotics may also be given to prevent the infection. A pain killer medicine can be given to alleviate the pain.

Follow up visit-

She is advised to visit on day 15 for re-examination and to ascertain that the abortion is complete. It also gives an opportunity for a doctor to check the health status of the woman. Just like in the earlier regimen the woman is asked for a follow up visit on the 15th day. Call us to find out contraindications of regiment.