The abortion pill, also known as medical abortion, may seem like an easy fix for your pregnancy situation right now. While it can be tempting to rush the pregnancy decision-making process, be sure you understand how the abortion pill works and the risks.
Before any pregnancy decision, you will want to understand where your pregnancy stands. Get clarity about your pregnancy details with no-cost pregnancy testing and a potential limited ultrasound at Crossroads Women’s Center. We are here to help.
Two Steps to The Abortion Pill Process
While it may sound like the abortion pill process only includes a single pill, it actually involves taking both mifepristone and misoprostol. They both work to terminate an existing pregnancy.
First, mifepristone is taken, which blocks the hormone progesterone. It prevents your uterus from sustaining a pregnancy, causing the fertilized egg to detach from the uterine wall. Second, misoprostol is taken, causing the uterus to contract and expel the pregnancy from the body.
Consider the Risks
There are physical risks to consider before taking the abortion pill, including:
- Undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy, this can be a life threatening situation
- The body not releasing all the pregnancy tissue in the uterus, also called and incomplete or failed abortion. This may require a surgical abortion.
- An ongoing pregnancy if the procedure doesn’t work, fetal malformations from misoprostol if survives.
- Heavy and prolonged bleeding
- Fever/Infection
- If you are Rh negative (requires a blood test) and not given Rhogam you can endanger a future pregnancy…both the baby and yourself.
When considering abortion, you should know what abortion options may be available to you.The FDA only recommends the abortion pill for women through 10 weeks of pregnancy.
Confirm your pregnancy with lab-quality pregnancy testing. If you receive a positive test result, an ultrasound is next. Ultrasounds are vital to confirm how far along you are and alert you to any possible pregnancy complications.
We Can Help
We’re here to support you as you seek answers for your pregnancy and your pregnancy decision. We can offer you no-cost pregnancy services to confirm your pregnancy and pregnancy options education so you can make an informed decision.
You are not alone. Schedule a no-cost appointment today.
All abortion information sourced in this blog is based on accurate information at the time of writing.