Abortion is a significant life decision. If you are considering abortion, you owe it to yourself to understand the procedures, side effects, and potential physical and emotional risks. You also need to know that you have options.
At My Life Clinic, you’ll receive accurate and up-to-date information for each type of abortion procedure. Let a caring team member answer your questions, give you more insight, and walk this journey with you.
Types of Abortion
There are two types of abortion procedures to terminate a pregnancy: medical and surgical. The method used is determined by how far along you are in your pregnancy.
Each procedure has risks and side effects. We encourage you to discuss these with your regular medical provider before deciding to have an abortion.
Medical Abortion
Medical abortion has many names like RU486, medication, chemical, and the abortion pill. They all use drugs to terminate a pregnancy.
With the abortion pill method, you take two different drugs over a 24 to 48-hour period. The first drug, mifepristone, blocks the hormone progesterone. All pregnancies need progesterone to grow. The lack of progesterone terminates the pregnancy.
The second drug, misoprostol, cause the uterus to contract to expel the pregnancy from the body through the vagina.
Side Effects and Risks
According to the Mayo Clinic, the following are both side effects and risks:
- Incomplete abortion, which may need to be followed by surgical abortion
- An ongoing pregnancy if the procedure doesn’t work
- Heavy and prolonged bleeding
- Infection
- Fever
- Digestive system discomfort with diarrhea
- Nausea and vomiting
- Abdominal cramping
Surgical Abortion
There are a variety of surgical abortion methods. The number of weeks you’ve been pregnant determines the method used.
For earlier pregnancies, the abortion provider uses Suction or Vacuum Aspiration, which sucks the pregnancy and tissue from your uterus. As your pregnancy progresses, it may be necessary to use a scraping tool or forceps to remove all parts of the pregnancy.
Side Effects and Risks
According to the Mayo Clinic, you may experience these side effects and risks:
- Bleeding or spotting
- Perforation of the uterus
- Damage to the cervix
- Scar tissue on the uterine wall
- Infection
- Fever
- Cramps
You Have Options
Abortion isn’t your only choice for your unplanned pregnancy. You have two others: parenting and making an adoption plan. You would be surprised at the community assistance available to help you parent, and we can give you the name of reputable adoption agencies that can talk with you about placing your child for adoption.
Before you make a final decision, take a closer look at all your options. If you are considering abortion for your unplanned pregnancy and want to know more, My Life Clinic is here for you. Please make your appointment today to talk with one of our staff members.
