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Abortion FAQ:What is abortion? Abortion means the removal of an embryo from the uterus by causing induced death of the embryo. There are three types of abortion possible depending upon the nature, complexity and the duration of pregnancy. 1. Emergency Contraception, 2. Medicinal or Medical Abortion, 3. Clinical or Surgical Abortion Is Abortion Legal? Abortion has been legalized in most of the countries including India, United States and most of the European countries. How Safe Are The Abortions? When done by health care experts during the first trimester, both medical and surgical abortions are generally very safe. There are only a few side effects, serious complications are rare. Abortion generally does not reduce a woman's ability to get pregnant in the future. What Is Medicinal Abortion? Medicinal Abortion is a type of non-surgical abortion in which pharmaceutical drugs are used to remove the embryo. Medical abortion using mifepristone in combination with a prostaglandin are the most common methods used to induce first-trimester abortion. A medical abortion can be used to get rid of any unwanted pregnancy up to 49 days after the embryo is formed (Gestation) and it is the most common form of abortion in today’s world. Medicinal abortion has been legalized in most of the countries including India, United States and most of the European countries. In this method, a pill or a combination of pills is taken, either orally or vaginally to induce abortion. The most common early first-trimester medical abortion regimens use Mifepristone alone or in combination with Misoprostol. Medicinal abortion pills can be taken at home or at a clinic under doctor’s supervision. Usually a single pill of Mifepristone is given followed by 2 pills of Misoprostol after 48 hours and soon after the bleeding starts. The medicine opens up the cervical muscles, causes mild contractions, alleviates the uterus and makes it to widen to help eject out the embryo. The flow of blood / blood clotting would be a considerably more compared to the normal menstrual cycle and it would last for an week to 10 days. How Does Medical Abortion Feel Like? For most women, medical abortion feels like a bad menstrual period with severe cramps, nausea, and mild to moderate headache. These symptoms are normal. However, the doctor will want to know if any of the following occur: How Effective Is Medicinal Abortion? Medicinal abortion (Mifepristone + Misopristol) is approximately 97% effective. In rare cases when medical abortion doesn’t work, surgical abortion may be tried. What Is Surgical Abortion? A surgical abortion is a medical procedure that involves minor out-patient surgery. A point to note here is that surgical abortions cannot be performed any earlier than 6-7 weeks after the first day of last menstrual period. A surgical abortion usually requires 3-4 visits to the doctor. The first visit will be a long one, 1-2 hours, and will include verification of the pregnancy, an ultra-sound to identify the date of conception, blood test, STD test and counseling to explain the procedure. In the second visit the doctor will perform the abortion. Usually the patient will be given a sedative to ease the nerves and diminish the pain. The doctor will slightly dilate the cervix in order to insert a small straw like suction device and start operating to remove the embryo. During the process, slight cramping may be experienced by the patient. The whole process normally takes 10-20 minutes. Then after a week a third visit to the doctor will be needed to find out whether the abortion was successful. Sometime the doctor may ask the patient to come for another visit after the normal menstrual cycle operation reinstates. How Does Surgical Abortion Feel Like? The side effects of surgical abortion are similar to those of medicinal abortion, surgical abortion feels like strong menstrual cramps. Women are usually given medicine to help with the pain and told to rest when they get home. How Effective Is Surgical Abortion? Surgical abortion, when done by expert doctors, is approximately 99.9% effective. |