Abortion Process Explained

An abortion is the physical process of ending a pregnancy and expelling the fetus before it has fully developed in the womb. Depending on the gestation period of the fetus and the health of the mother, the process can be completed using medications or surgical means. The choice of physician also depends on which specific type of termination a woman will undergo in the attempt to end her pregnancy. As with any type of medical procedure, there is a certain amount of risk associated with the procedure of which all potential patients should be made clearly aware. If you find yourself in an unwanted pregnancy and believe your only option is to seek an abortion, you should know exactly what the process entails, including the associated risks and success rates.

Usually, terminations are around 95 percent effective as a method of terminating a pregnancy. Depending on the specific process will cause the success rate to vary. To determine your specific percentage of success, speak with your physician. He or she will be able to inform you of any problems that could cause a low success rate and your options should the procedure prove to be unsuccessful. If you find yourself seeking a termination early on in your pregnancy, most physicians will bypass any surgical means and opt to use medicine to complete the termination. By taking a single pill or a cocktail of pills will allow your body to dilate your cervix and signal contractions in your uterus, which will expel the fetus. If medicine will not serve your specific situation, your doctor will opt to choose to complete a surgical procedure.

There are many types of surgical procedures that can complete the process. The most popular involves the doctor dilating your cervix while he or she scrapes the uterine lining with a curette. This scraping rids your body to the uterine lining, along with any embryo that may be embedded into the walls. Other surgical procedures allow physicians to surgically remove the fetus. The risk is increased with any surgical procedure, as the cervix, uterus, or uterine wall can be harmed by the tools used by the physician. Additionally, the threat of infection can cause sterility, although these extreme side effects are only in very rare instances.

Also read our article about Abortion Pill