When Should a Medical Abortion be Performed?

A medical abortion is a procedure that does not involve any surgery. Instead of using tools to terminate the pregnancy, a medical termination is completed by using medication to induce labor or expel the fetus. Depending on your medical condition and the advancement in your pregnancy, your health care provider may use a medical termination as opposed to the more invasive surgical procedure. Using medication to end a pregnancy has a high success rate, as does surgical procedures, but usually has less potentially harmful side effects.

A medical termination is elected to be performed depending on the specific woman in question. If you show signs of potential health risks or interactions involving the necessary medications that are used in order to complete the termination, your physician may suggest a surgical operation instead. Medically ending a pregnancy can be used only if the pregnancy is less than seven weeks from the beginning of a missed period. If the pregnancy is too far advanced, the abortion must be surgical instead of medical. The best results for a medical termination directly correspond with the advancement of the pregnancy. The closer to the missed period a woman can seek medical help in order to begin the termination, the more successful the overall procedure.

If a woman opt to undergo a medical termination, she should first seek all information available on the topic. Speak to your health care provider regarding this procedure and see if this option is available for you. A termination that is administered through the use of medication prematurely induces the woman’s cervix to dilate. After the cervix is dilated, the uterus contracts and the fetus is expelled. This medical procedure can be a single pill or a series of pills and has a success rate of 75 to 95 percent. Generally, a medical procedure puts less emotional stress on the woman and she is less likely to experience painful side effects than a surgical procedure. Furthermore, more serious side effects resulting from an injury to a woman’s cervix or uterus is eliminated when using a medical procedure as opposed to a surgical procedure.

Also read our article about Late Term Abortion