How Does Abortion End My Pregnancy?

Abortion works to terminate an existing pregnancy, either through drugs or a surgical procedure. Both chemical abortion and surgical abortion types have risks to consider.

Get the facts about how each abortion ends a pregnancy by reading below. At First Care, we can help you answer any further abortion questions you have.

If you’re considering abortion, get more information about your pregnancy details with us to make an informed decision and safeguard your health.

Two Types of Abortion Procedures

There are two main types of abortions: chemical and surgical. Chemical abortion is only recommended for women through 10 weeks of pregnancy by the FDA. If a pregnancy is further along, it typically requires a surgical abortion.

Chemical Abortion

Chemical abortion includes taking two different drugs: mifepristone and misoprostol.

The first drug, mifepristone, blocks the hormone progesterone and prevents your uterus from sustaining a pregnancy, causing the embryo to detach from the uterine wall. Secondly, misoprostol is taken and causes the uterus to contract and expel the pregnancy from your body.

Potential risks of chemical abortion (the abortion pill) include:

• Incomplete abortion, which may need to be followed by a surgical procedure
• An ongoing pregnancy if the procedure doesn’t work
• Heavy and prolonged bleeding that may require medical intervention to stop
• Severe abdominal pain
• Digestive system discomfort
• Infection
• Fever

Surgical Abortion

During a surgical abortion, anesthesia is given before the procedure. Surgical instruments such as dilators, scraping tools, forceps, suction, and a vacuum among others, are used to dilate the cervix and remove the pregnancy through the vagina.

Instruments often used in this procedure are suction, vacuum, scraping tools, forceps, and other surgical tools.  These are used to remove all parts of the embryo and gestational sac of the pregnancy.

Some of the risks of surgical abortion include the following:

• Damage to the uterus or cervix
• Uterine perforation
• Excessive and prolonged bleeding that may require  medical intervention to stop
• Infection of the uterus or fallopian tubes
• Scarring of the inside of the uterus
• Reaction to the drugs or anesthesia, such as problems breathing
• Not removing all of the tissue, requiring another procedure
• Several of the above risks can cause damage and scar tissue which lead to infertility

Do You Have More Questions?

First things first, get more information about your pregnancy. By beginning with  a free lab-quality urine pregnancy testing at First Care.

If you receive positive pregnancy test, we can offer you a free limited ultrasound so you can get more answers about your pregnancy like location, viability, and estimate of how far along you are. We can also provide you with more information about abortion and all your options if needed.

Schedule a free appointment today. Same-day appointments are available.

First Care does not provide or refer for abortions. 

All abortion information sourced in this blog is based on accurate information at the time of writing.