Medical abortion, otherwise pharmaceutical or “velvet” abortion, is a method of terminating pregnancy in its early stages using special drugs that does not require surgical intervention.
Advantages of medical abortion:
- Does not require surgical intervention;
- Produced in the early stages of pregnancy, when significant hormonal changes have not yet occurred;
- It is the least traumatic, since the cervix and mucous membrane of the uterus are not subjected to mechanical stress, due to which they remain intact;
- It does not have such severe consequences as others, and significantly reduces the risk of infertility in the future.
- There is no need for anesthesia, so this type of abortion is suitable for women for whom anesthesia is contraindicated;
- Menstrual function is restored within 28-30 days.
Description of the method
Pharmaceutical abortion is a single dose of a drug with the active ingredient mifepristone. Mifepristone blocks the action of the hormone progesterone, which stimulates the growth of the endometrium, resulting in the detachment of the embryo from the walls of the uterus. At the second stage, a drug is taken - an analogue of prostaglandins (the active substance is misoprostol), under the influence of which the muscles of the uterus begin to contract and the fertilized egg is pushed out of its cavity. Thus, a medical abortion is an induced miscarriage. According to statistics, its effectiveness is 95-98%.
Preparations:
Antigestagenic drugs(containing mifepristone 200 mg):
- Mifegin (France);
- Mifepristone (Russia);
- Pencrofton (Russia);
- Mifolian (China).
Prostaglandin preparations(containing misoprostol):
- Misoprostol (Russia);
- Mirolyut (Russia);
- Cytotech (UK).
These drugs are not sold in pharmacies without a prescription. The quality of the drugs used often depends on the country of origin (French tablets are considered the best). Medical abortion can only be performed under the supervision of a highly qualified physician in a medical facility. Before the procedure, it is recommended to find out what drug will be used and check the clinic’s license to permit this type of activity. Carrying out a medical abortion at home is unacceptable.
- From the very beginning of its development, humanity has tried to control birth rates and looked for ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies. you will find information about modern contraceptives.
- Methods emergency contraception It is recommended to use only when it is necessary to prevent an unwanted pregnancy after unprotected intercourse or failure of other means of contraception. These methods of contraception are described.
- Today, intrauterine contraception is very popular among women. Statistics show that more than seventy percent of women successfully use contraceptives.
Medical abortion can only be performed on early- up to 42 days from the first day of the last menstruation (or up to 49 days after the end of the last menstruation). Abortion is most effective up to four weeks, while the fertilized egg is still weakly attached to the wall of the uterus and hormonal changes in the body are insignificant. In the future, the effectiveness of the procedure is greatly reduced and the risk of possible complications increases sharply.
Stages of medical abortion
Preliminary inspection
A gynecologist diagnoses pregnancy and sets its exact date. It is necessary to exclude ectopic pregnancy (in case of which medical abortion is unacceptable) and the presence of contraindications.
First stage
The patient takes mifepristone 600 mg (3 tablets) in the presence of a doctor and remains under his supervision for 2 hours. She then receives recommendations and medications for the second stage of abortion. At the first stage, cramps in the lower abdomen may occur and spotting may appear, which is normal. It is better to do a medical abortion no earlier than 2 hours after the last meal.
Second phase
36-48 hours after taking mifepristone, the patient should independently take the prostaglandin preparation given by the doctor. It is advisable to stay at home throughout the day. The degree of pain and the amount of bleeding depend on individual characteristics. It is important to follow all doctor's recommendations and take only approved pain medications as needed.
Control examinations
3 days after taking mifepristone, the patient should undergo a gynecological examination and the first control ultrasound, and after 7-14 days a repeat examination and ultrasound control. If necessary, an hCG test is taken to confirm the abortion. In case of incomplete abortion, vacuum aspiration or curettage is performed.
Contraindications for medical abortion
- Ectopic pregnancy;
- Inflammatory gynecological diseases;
- Uterine fibroids;
- Inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
- Acute or chronic renal or liver failure;
- Pregnancy resulting from the use of;
- Anemia and bleeding disorders;
- Individual intolerance to mifepristone;
- Taking corticosteroid drugs and anticoagulants.
Restrictions:
- Smoking over 35 years of age;
- Postoperative scars on the uterus;
- Hypertension;
- Lactation (you must stop breastfeeding for 14 days).
Possible complications after an abortion
Even if all instructions are followed, an unfavorable outcome from a medical abortion cannot be ruled out.
- Continuation of pregnancy or incomplete abortion;
- Uterine bleeding requiring medical intervention;
- Abdominal pain;
- Nausea, vomiting;
- Weakness, dizziness;
- High blood pressure, migraine;
- Increased body temperature;
- Allergic reactions (rare).
You should abstain from sex for two to three weeks so as not to provoke bleeding and the development of inflammatory processes. One of the consequences of an abortion may be a change in ovulation, and, as a result, a woman runs the risk of becoming pregnant 11-12 days after the procedure. Therefore, immediately after an abortion you need to start using contraception. If the outcome is successful, you can plan a pregnancy after 3 months.
There are no significant delays after this procedure. In most cases, the first menstruation after an abortion begins after the number of days that constitutes the normal cycle for a given woman, if the first day of the previous menstruation is considered to be the day of the abortion or the time of the onset of bleeding that occurs within 24 hours after taking the drug. The rapid restoration of the cycle is explained by the absence of mechanical damage to the uterus and hormonal disruptions.
For several months after an abortion, deviations in the direction of increasing the duration of the menstrual cycle are allowed; the delay can be up to 10 days.
Natalia:
I am 31 years old, I have two children, I had a medical termination of pregnancy for medical reasons at 6 weeks. I want to say the main thing: everyone has a different body and different tolerance. Everything went fine for me, I'm happy with the result. The doctor warned against taking aspirin and thermal treatments (sauna, hot bath, etc.), as this could cause severe bleeding. I strongly advise everyone to stay at home while taking the pills, preferably under the supervision of relatives, as severe dizziness occurs, almost to the point of loss of consciousness.
Arina:
I am 24 years old. I'll get straight to the point. Ultrasound showed a period of 3-4 weeks. After taking the first three tablets I felt slightly nauseous and general weakness. After the remaining pills, it was pouring out of me so much that due to the enormous loss of blood, I was moving along the wall from the sofa to the toilet. At the same time, clots the size of a small chicken (!!!) egg came out. This lasted from 5 to 9 pm. The vegetable’s condition lasted for about five days; I constantly wanted to lie down and felt dizzy. The discharge continued for about 2 weeks. After this nightmare, I want to say - between vacuum aspiration and medical abortion, choose a vacuum, I did that too. So, in this case, you came to the clinic, suffered for 3 minutes and went home, you don’t have to walk around like a vegetable for a week, not knowing whether everything went well or whether they’ll send you for cleaning.
Anna:
I had a pharmaceutical abortion twice at up to 6 weeks, Russian drugs in a private clinic. Everything was fine, no heavy bleeding, no severe pain. The doctor said that such an abortion cannot always be performed on nulliparous women. I wish everyone to take better precautions, it’s still a little difficult mentally.
How is medical abortion performed?
Medical termination of pregnancy is a chance to preserve your health; women in many countries of the world know how an artificially induced miscarriage occurs - at least 31, where legislative level this procedure is allowed. It is effective and accessible.
The duration of medical termination of pregnancy in Russia is limited to six obstetric weeks. This is due to the fact that it is at this early stage that the greatest chance is to carry out the procedure without any complications, as painlessly as possible for the woman and effectively.
Advantages of the procedure compared to instrumental abortion
1. Does not require intravenous anesthesia. Thus, it avoids many problems associated with its side effect. For women, for example, a fairly common and significant consequence of anesthesia is excessive hair loss.
2. Does not require hospitalization. Although some women, on the contrary, want to have a medical termination of pregnancy in a clinic, because they are afraid that the pain will be too severe or heavy bleeding will begin.
3. Eliminates injuries to the cavity and cervix. This means that the risk of miscarriage for the next pregnancy does not increase. The risk of infertility does not increase.
4. Psychologically it is better tolerated by most women. Since you don’t need to go to the hospital, prepare for this procedure for a long time, see surgical instruments, which performs abortion. All this is very mentally difficult.
5. Minimal risk of an inflammatory process in the uterus - endometritis. Since they don’t “climb” into the uterus, they don’t injure you, everything goes according to the type of menstruation.
We can definitely say that the consequences of medical abortion, compared to instrumental ones, are minimal. And it is this type of abortion that is preferable for nulliparous women.
At the doctor's
You need to find a clinic, private or public, that has a license to perform this procedure (now almost everyone has one).
At the clinic you will be examined and have an ultrasound of the uterus. This study is considered basic, as it shows that the woman is indeed pregnant and the pregnancy is intrauterine.
Sometimes it happens that a woman comes after receiving a positive pregnancy test result, but the doctor does not find a fertilized egg in her uterus. This happens with a very short period of pregnancy, usually when the delay has not yet begun. Now there are tests on sale with very high sensitivity that show the correct result not on the first day of the delay, but much earlier - 4-5 days before its start. The hCG level is very low. To visualize the ovum, its level must reach at least 1000. And tests show the correct result already at 10 units... The hCG level doubles every two days. It usually reaches this level already in the first week of delay. A pill abortion can be done if the delay is up to 2 weeks. There is time.
If an ultrasound showed a fertilized egg in the uterus, the doctor gives detailed description how medical abortion occurs, how you will feel and how to behave. After a conversation with a doctor, you need to read and sign an information consent, which will contain approximately the following points:
- that the pregnancy is terminated deliberately;
- if pregnancy progresses after taking the pills, it is advisable to terminate it, as there is a great risk to the child’s health;
- information on how medical abortion is carried out has been received in full;
- complications may arise in the process - bleeding, incomplete miscarriage, sometimes additional uterine curettage or vacuum aspiration is required;
- an exacerbation of chronic infections may be provoked, resulting in infertility;
- the woman undertakes to strictly follow all the doctor’s recommendations.
Description of the procedure
Medications for medical abortion are provided by a doctor. The first, Mifepristone, is taken by a woman in the presence of a doctor. A serious drug that blocks the action of progesterone, a hormone necessary for the development and nutrition of the fertilized egg. This medicine is not sold in pharmacies in dosages required to terminate a pregnancy. To avoid criminal abortions, as well as to ensure that the drug has worked, the woman should not vomit for 2 hours after taking it; the patient is asked to stay in the clinic during this time. And you are given with you an information sheet explaining what happens after taking the pills and how to act, a doctor’s phone number where you can get advice at any time, and a second drug, synthetic prostaglandin. It must be taken at home 36-48 hours after the first one.
And if after Mifepristone a woman could at most experience bloody discharge from the genital tract, then prostaglandin directly provokes detachment and release of the fertilized egg from the uterus. All this is accompanied by severe cramping pain. The effect appears almost immediately after taking it. Therefore you need to stay at home. After a miscarriage, the pain subsides.
Some women are also worried about nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, and fever. These symptoms do not occur in everyone; this is the body’s individual reaction to the medication.
No-shpu and Baralgin are recommended as painkillers - that is, drugs from the group of antispasmodics and analgesics. But Ibuprofen, Diclofenac, Aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should not be taken, as they can weaken the effect of the drugs prescribed by the doctor.
Discharge after medical termination of pregnancy is profuse, stronger than during menstruation. Rarely, acute bleeding does occur. This is if a sanitary pad is completely saturated within an hour, and this continues for 2-3 hours in a row. Then you need to urgently seek help. Doctors usually prescribe a hemostatic drug.
After a miscarriage, the discharge becomes much more abundant. However, they can be stored in small quantities for up to 14 days. Around this time, an ultrasound is performed, which should confirm a complete miscarriage. Otherwise, the woman will face vacuum aspiration. Signs of an incomplete miscarriage are pain in the uterus and ovaries, elevated body temperature, prolonged bleeding, unpleasant odor from the vagina, etc. Incomplete abortion leads to endometritis. And that leads to infertility, in the absence of treatment.
Most women do not lose their menstrual cycle after an artificial miscarriage. That is, menstruation after medical termination of pregnancy should be expected at the usual time. And if a woman starts taking oral contraceptives, then there will be no problems with calculating the start date of her period. They will begin 3-7 days after taking 21 contraceptive tablets. Since few people plan to become pregnant after a medical termination in the near future, this is a wonderful way out. And the cycle will be restored, and you won’t have to have new abortions.
There are several methods to terminate an early pregnancy. Each of them has its own risks and contraindications. In the article we will look at medical abortion, how the procedure works, and whether there are any risks.
Until recently, vacuum or mini-abortion was the only way to terminate an early pregnancy. But it had many side effects due to the fact that it involved intervention in the uterine cavity, which can lead to injury or infection.
That is why scientists have studied alternative methods of terminating pregnancy that do not require instrumental intervention. After the invention of hormonal drugs such as Mifepristone and Misoprostol in the 80s, medical termination of pregnancy became possible. Let's look at how everything happens next.
Drugs for medical abortion
Today there are many analogues of Mifepristone - Mifeprex, Miropriston, Mifegin, Pencrofton, RU-480 and others. These are progesterone antagonists, which, in addition to abortion, in a certain dosage can be used as emergency contraception (Gynepristone). The effect of these drugs is to block the action of progesterone, the main hormone responsible for the development of pregnancy. In parallel with the above drugs, Cytotec is used to terminate pregnancy. How to take medications depends on the situation. Therefore, the gynecologist should prescribe the dosage.
Misoprostol has also acquired different trade names and is also known in Russia as Mirolut. Prostaglandins contained in the drug provoke contractions of the muscles of the uterine walls, after which the fertilized egg is expelled from the cavity.
At what period and how is medical termination of pregnancy done?
The decision to have a medical abortion is made by the woman. The pregnancy period should not exceed 49 days from the beginning of the last menstruation. Existing contraindications should also be taken into account, including:
- suspicion of the development of an ectopic pregnancy;
- renal or liver failure in acute or chronic form;
- long-term use of certain hormonal drugs (dexamethosone, prednisolone, etc.);
- taking anticoagulants;
- exacerbation of inflammatory processes in the woman’s urogenital system;
- presence of uterine fibroids;
- pregnancy while using intrauterine device or immediately after discontinuation of oral contraceptives;
- severe form of bronchial asthma;
- individual intolerance to drug components.
During the first visit to the gynecologist, a woman undergoes a gynecological examination and undergoes the necessary tests, including smears and blood tests. Ultrasound diagnostics of the pelvic organs is also necessary to eliminate the risk of ectopic pregnancy. Before terminating a pregnancy using medication, the doctor will consult you about the possible risks. The woman signs consent to use a particular drug for this purpose.
How does pregnancy termination occur with the help of medications? This will require three steps. On the first day, after a light breakfast, a woman drinks 3 tablets of Miropriston or analogues with a dosage of 200 mg, remaining under the supervision of a doctor for several hours. After this time, the patient is sent home, but at the first fear that something is going wrong, she should call the doctor.
The second visit is 48 hours after the first dose. On this day, take 2 tablets of Mirolut or analogues with a dosage of 200 mcg. Within a few hours, bleeding from the vagina should begin. If they are not observed, the Mirolyut administration is repeated. As a rule, the amount of discharge, as well as the duration, varies depending on the duration of pregnancy and the individual characteristics of the woman’s body. Usually spotting is present for 1-3 weeks. Sometimes it may be necessary to take hemostatic drugs.
The third visit to the gynecologist is scheduled no later than two weeks after the second. The doctor conducts a follow-up examination and ultrasound to exclude the possibility of complications such as incomplete abortion or a pregnancy that continues to develop. The doctor is developing a method for preventing unwanted pregnancy in the future.
Hello, dear readers! In this article we will talk about medical termination of pregnancy. Let us describe the procedure for performing a medical abortion. Let's consider contraindications and possible side effects.
If it is necessary to terminate a pregnancy, surgical or medical methods are used. For a long time, surgery was the only way to terminate a pregnancy. Surgery carries the risk of various complications. Induced abortion in the form of a surgical operation can cause great harm to health.
In 1977, a scientific panel from the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a report calling for the development of a non-surgical method of abortion. In 1988, after all trials were completed, the drug Mifepristone went on sale in France. Doctors began to perform early abortions with the help of medications.
Medicines used:
production Russia:
- Mifepristone
- Mifeprex
- Pencrofton
made in China:
- Mytholian
Made in France:
- Mifegin
The above drugs are based on mifepristone, discovered by French researchers. Postinor, Misoprostol, etc. are used in combination with mifepristone.
The use of tablets reduced the number of possible complications, but did not completely eliminate them.
Whatever the reasons for an abortion, it is important to understand that this is extreme stress for the body. During pregnancy, all systems and organs are adjusted to bearing a child. By having an abortion, the body's new mode of functioning is forcibly interrupted. Termination of pregnancy carries possible negative consequences.
How does medical abortion occur?
The procedure is divided into several stages V:
- A complete examination of the patient is carried out. An ultrasound examination (ultrasound) is performed and the presence of chronic diseases, possible contraindications to the procedure are identified, and blood is given for analysis.
- The medication is being taken. The required dose of a drug based on mifepristone is given, which causes detachment of the ovum and death of the fetus. The woman is monitored dynamically by a doctor for complications. The patient spends at least two hours in the medical facility. At the end, the doctor gives recommendations for the next stage.
- Prostaglandins are taken. After two days, the prostaglandins Misoprostol or Mirolyut, which cause bleeding, are taken at home. Depending on the chosen regimen, the doctor selects a specific drug.
- A control ultrasound examination (US) is performed. On the fourth day, the doctor performs an ultrasound to confirm the completion of the abortion. The results are evaluated. If necessary, instrumental intervention is prescribed.
On average, 3% of medical abortions fail. Doctors are forced to resort to instrumental interventions (curettage).
The success of the procedure depends on the drug and the individual characteristics of the woman’s body.
According to the latest international data, abortion with medication is effective method termination of pregnancy before 14 weeks. Also, international communities have found that the following aspects are not contraindications to “pharmaboration”:
- uterine scar,
- twin pregnancy,
- obesity,
- breast-feeding.
Contraindications:
- Severe form of anemia,
- Possible allergic reactions to drugs,
- Presence of an ectopic pregnancy,
- The presence of hereditary porphyria, a disease with an imbalance of chemicals through which porphyrin is produced in the body,
- Taking corticosteroids
- Diabetes,
- Acute liver and kidney failure.
Possible side effects:
- Nausea,
- Vomit,
- Headache,
- Low-grade fever,
- Violation of thermoregulation,
- Violations by gastrointestinal tract,
- Dizziness.
Side effects last for a short period of time and are accompanied by low intensity.
The higher the gestational age, the greater the pain during medical abortion and the higher the risk of complications. It is possible to prescribe a pain reliever such as Ibuprofen or No-spa.
The bleeding that begins generally resembles menstruation and disappears on the eleventh day. Some women continue to bleed for more than two weeks after an abortion.
Success in carrying out abortion with help medicines achieved in 95% of cases.
Recovery
The recovery period lasts on average one month. It is necessary to carefully monitor your health. The woman is recommended to get proper rest. Physical exercise and sexual intercourse should be excluded for a while. You should avoid visiting baths and saunas. Taking a bath or swimming in a pool or open water is also contraindicated. A proper diet and taking a multivitamin complex will help speed up the recovery period.
On the eleventh day after an abortion, another pregnancy may occur. To exclude unwanted pregnancy, the use of contraceptives is necessary. A gynecologist will help you choose the most suitable method of contraception. You need to start using contraception immediately after an abortion. Repeated pregnancy is not recommended in the first six months.
Induced abortion with the help of medications is a fairly safe and effective method of terminating pregnancy in the first trimester. With information about the advantages and disadvantages of the method, as well as possible side effects, a woman can choose a more appropriate method of terminating a pregnancy. Abortion in most cases is accompanied by psychological problems. To avoid unwanted pregnancy and subsequent visits to a psychologist, you must always remember about contraception. Before you go for an abortion, think more than once before making a fateful and perhaps the most difficult decision in your life. After a few years, “insurmountable” circumstances forcing you to get rid of your baby may seem like a trifle. But your greatest happiness will remain with you. In any case, the decision is yours.
See you in the next article.
Modern medicine offers a wide variety of effective contraceptives that protect against unplanned pregnancy. But, as practice shows, not even the most reliable contraceptive will protect against unwanted pregnancy 100%. Sometimes pregnancy can be an unpleasant and unexpected surprise for a woman. If pregnancy is not desired, then the only way to find a way out of this situation is to terminate it. A few decades ago, the main method of birth control was abortion - curettage of the fetus from the uterine cavity through surgery, and in the early stages vacuum aspiration or mini-abortion was performed. This method of terminating pregnancy poses a danger to women’s health and can lead to serious consequences in the future: bleeding, chronic inflammatory processes, endometritis, and miscarriage of subsequent pregnancies. Today, gynecology uses the most gentle and safest method of birth control - medical termination of pregnancy in the early stages.
Medical termination of pregnancy in the early stages (up to 4 weeks) artificially provokes a miscarriage by taking drugs whose action is aimed at disrupting the nutrition of the fetus, which leads to its rejection from the uterine cavity, the procedure is carried out under the supervision of a doctor. Today, this method is the least traumatic way to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy. After termination of pregnancy by this method, the woman’s reproductive function is preserved, and in the future she can become pregnant and bear a healthy baby. The risk of infection of the genital organs with infectious diseases is also eliminated and the consequences of the use of anesthesia, which is used in traditional abortion, are eliminated.
Abortion pills
Non-surgical termination of pregnancy is carried out with the following drugs:
- Mifepristone.
- Pencrofton.
- Mifeprex.
- Pencrofton.
- Mytholian.
- Miropriston.
The main chemical these drugs contain is called mifepristone. Tablet dosage is 200 mg. It is thanks to this substance that the fertilized egg is detached from the uterine cavity, which leads to its miscarriage. Mifepristone suppresses the uterine perception of hormones that maintain pregnancy.
Stages of medical abortion in early pregnancy
- Gynecological examination in the clinic.
First and important step Before carrying out a non-surgical abortion, you should be examined by a gynecologist, who will conduct an examination, prescribe an ultrasound examination (ultrasound), which will make sure that the pregnancy is uterine and determine its exact date. If you consult a doctor in a timely manner, a woman has a better chance of terminating an unplanned pregnancy in a completely safe manner for her health. Medical abortion is performed before 4 weeks of pregnancy (up to 42 days from the day of missed menstruation). For a period of 6 weeks or more, the medical method of terminating a pregnancy can lead to undesirable consequences - partial abortion, so you should not delay the decision to have an abortion.
Clinics where non-surgical abortion is performed must have a license to perform the procedure; these can be either public medical institutions or private ones. The doctor’s task is to select the appropriate pharmacological drug and familiarize the patient with the stages of the procedure and possible risks to her health. - In the absence of contraindications to termination of pregnancy, the gynecologist gives the dose of mifepristone required for the patient, which she must take under his supervision. Please note that the drug is taken on an empty stomach, so do not eat food 2 hours before visiting the doctor. After taking mifepristone tablets, the patient must stay in a medical facility for several hours; the body's reaction to the drug may be different and cause side effects. The first sign that the process of embryo rejection has begun is the appearance of bloody discharge. The doctor sends the patient home and prescribes a second dose of the drug after 1-2 days. It is advisable to take the doctor’s contact information for emergency communication in case of possible complications. Approximately 60% of all medical abortions are successful at this stage. If after the prescribed period the abortion does not occur, prostaglandins are prescribed.
- The third stage of non-surgical abortion occurs with the help of prostaglandins (synthetic excreted active substances that enhance uterine contractions). After taking them, the woman begins to bleed. The effect of the drug on each organism is individual, in some cases women experience vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, nagging pain reminiscent of contractions, and in this case the presence of a doctor is mandatory. A timely adjusted dose of the drug will reduce blood loss and eliminate possible side effects.
- After a medical termination of pregnancy, a woman must visit a gynecologist after 10-14 days. The doctor will assess the condition of the uterus using an ultrasound; examining the patient will make sure that there are no remnants of the fertilized egg left in her cavity; if the gynecologist’s suspicions are confirmed, he will take measures to remove them. The recovery period of the body, as after surgery, lasts about a month. During this period, you need to be extremely attentive to your condition, and if there is the slightest change in your state of health, if symptoms appear, such as nausea, a sharp increase in temperature, if there is bleeding, pain in the lower abdomen, urgently call a doctor or seek medical help.
During the recovery period it is prohibited:
- drinking alcohol;
- be sexually active (1-2 weeks);
- visit the sauna, swimming pool;
- physical exercise;
- do not overcool;
- use of tampons.
Contraindications to medical abortion
Unfortunately, there are some contraindications that prevent women from taking medications intended to terminate a pregnancy:
- when the pregnancy is more than 6 weeks;
- in the presence of an ectopic pregnancy;
- if there is an intrauterine device in the uterine cavity;
- in acute and chronic forms of renal or liver failure;
- in the presence of inflammatory processes of the gastrointestinal tract; in the female genitals, uterine fibroids, scars in the uterine cavity;
- for anemia, hypertension;
- with long-term use of corticosteroid drugs;
- with intolerance to mifeprestone;
- Also, taking the drug is not recommended during lactation (it should be interrupted), and for smoking women over the age of 35 years.
Consequences of medical abortion
After the procedure, the woman retains the effect of the pregnancy hormone progesterone on her body for a certain period of time. It can cause depression, which is accompanied by irritability, fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite, and also a feeling of guilt about what you have done. Over time, these symptoms disappear and women return to their normal lives. But medical abortion is dangerous due to other, more complex consequences:
- It is not uncommon to experience heavy bleeding after an abortion, so it is safer to take abortion medications under the supervision of a doctor.
- A woman may feel severe pain in the lower abdomen, as the drug affects the contraction of the uterus. Pain in the intestines may also appear.
- Abortion provokes inflammatory processes in the uterus, cervix, and vagina, which lead to the development of vaginitis, cervicitis or endometriosis. In this case, immediate treatment should be carried out.
- It can lead to an incomplete (partial) abortion, when a part or membrane of the embryo remains in the uterus; in this case, women experience pain in the lower abdomen and begin to bleed. In this case, surgery will be prescribed to remove the remains of the embryo.
How to terminate an early pregnancy at home
Due to possible consequences and complications and health risks, abortion with pills should only be carried out under the supervision of a gynecologist. Many women do not realize the degree of risk to their health and try to terminate their pregnancy at home. Such careless attitude towards your health is unacceptable. The only drug that is used at home within 24 hours after sexual intercourse is Postinor. It is advisable to take it in case of unprotected sexual intercourse, and the earlier a woman takes it, the greater her chances of not getting pregnant. The action of the drug is aimed at suppressing ovulation and subsequent fertilization of the egg.
Pain after medical termination of pregnancy
In most cases, pain while taking a dose of mifepristone is tolerable, and the pain resembles pain like menstruation. But after taking prostaglandin, a woman may experience severe cramping pain, as the drug contracts the muscles of the uterus, pushing the embryo out of it. For unbearable, severe pain, painkillers are prescribed. If the pain does not stop after taking painkillers, you should inform your doctor.
Menstruation after medical termination of pregnancy
The restoration of menstruation occurs one cycle after a non-surgical abortion, the day of which is considered the first day of menstruation. Therefore, the countdown of the new cycle begins on the day of the procedure. Each body recovers in its own way, and women experience menstruation differently; this process depends on the individual characteristics of the woman’s body. For some they are very abundant, for others they pass through like normal menstruation.
How to determine the date of your next period
If the woman is healthy and the embryo was rejected without complications, then the number of days that her normal cycle lasts is added to the date of the abortion. The date obtained during the calculation will be the number when the next menstruation should begin, but deviations from the calculation of several days are possible.
Factors that influence the restoration of menstruation
After drug intervention, periods may be more painful and last for several cycles until the body returns to normal. Their recovery is influenced by factors such as:
- chronic diseases and gynecological diseases of women;
- hormonal imbalance in the body;
- diseases of the thyroid gland or adrenal glands;
- on how far along the pregnancy was when the abortion occurred;
- quality and dosage of the drug used for abortion.
It is worth noting that although medical abortion is considered the most reliable method, it is not 100% effective. The drug you take is not always capable of causing a miscarriage and this must be remembered. A delay in menstruation is a reason to consult a gynecologist to exclude the possibility of developing a progressive pregnancy. In this case, it is not recommended to carry out independent pregnancy tests, since malfunctions have occurred in the female body, and the test will show an unreliable result. Only an ultrasound can confirm this fact. In addition, after a pharmacological abortion, a woman should take care of a reliable method of contraception to prevent reconception. Therefore, if your menstruation does not occur within the expected period, consult a doctor immediately.
ATTENTION!!! This article is for informational purposes only, do not self-medicate, consult a specialist.