A medical or medication abortion, also known as the “abortion pill” method, uses two abortion drugs to terminate a pregnancy. Confirming your pregnancy and learning about the limitations and potential physical and emotional risks beforehand is essential. Let Willowbrook Women’s Center give you the information you need.
How Does a Medical Abortion Work?
The two drugs you take for the abortion pill method are mifepristone and misoprostol. The FDA highly regulates mifepristone. This drug blocks the hormone progesterone from reaching the pregnancy. Without progesterone, a pregnancy cannot survive.
Misoprostol, the second drug, causes bleeding and contractions to remove the pregnancy and tissue from the body. For some women, the pain, along with the contractions, can be severe.
What Are the Limitations Of Medical Abortion?
The FDA approves the use of abortion drugs through 10 weeks of pregnancy only (70 days from the first day of your last menstrual period). Other experts recommend not using them after only nine weeks (63 days).
The Mayo Clinic states that a medical abortion isn’t for you if:
- You are too far along in your pregnancy.
- You have an intrauterine device (IUD).
- You have a suspected pregnancy outside of the uterus (ectopic pregnancy), which can be life-threatening.
- You have certain medical conditions.
- You take a blood thinner.
- You can’t make follow-up visits to your abortion provider.
- You don’t have access to emergency care.
- You have an allergy to the medicine used.
What Are the Potential Risks?
The side effects of the abortion pill include nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, diarrhea, and headache. Experts list the following as potential risks:
- An incomplete abortion. This means the pregnancy ends, but not all pregnancy tissue leaves the body
- An ongoing pregnancy if the procedure doesn’t work
- Heavy and prolonged bleeding
- Infection
- Fever
- Digestive system discomfort
Why Do I Need to Confirm My Pregnancy?
A late period and a positive pregnancy test may not be enough to confirm you are pregnant. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) estimates as many as 26% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. Most miscarriages occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Because it takes a woman’s body time to return to pre-pregnancy hormone levels, it is possible to get a positive pregnancy test result days or weeks following a miscarriage. Therefore, you may not be pregnant after all. Confirming your pregnancy first is essential.
How Can Willowbrook Women’s Center Help?
The professional staff at both Willowbrook locations can confirm your pregnancy with a no-cost, confidential pregnancy test and limited ultrasound. Our caring medical staff will review your test results with you to provide the information you need to move forward.
We’re here to listen and help however we can. Schedule an appointment for your no-cost pre-abortion screening today.
