The “abortion pill” is another name for medical abortion, which terminates a pregnancy with prescription drugs.
You may have heard other names for this type of abortion, such as medication abortion, chemical abortion, mail-order abortion, self-managed abortion, at-home abortion, and online abortion. These names represent different characteristics of the abortion pill but refer to the same drug regimen.
How Does the Abortion Pill Work?
The abortion pill works by using two drugs, most commonly mifepristone and misoprostol, taken hours or days apart.
Mifepristone first blocks the hormone progesterone to end the pregnancy. Then misoprostol triggers uterine contractions to expel the embryo and related pregnancy tissue with cramping and bleeding.
What Are the Risks?
Potential risks of the abortion pill include incomplete abortion, an ongoing pregnancy if the procedure doesn’t work, infection, fever, and digestive system discomfort.
In addition to assessing the risks of abortion, it’s critical to ensure you don’t have any pre-existing conditions like certain bleeding disorders or an IUD currently in place that would render the abortion pill unsafe.
Receive STI testing beforehand and review your current medications to protect your health by reducing the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and drug interactions.
Timing and Safety Go Together
The abortion pill is only FDA-approved for use through ten weeks of pregnancy. After this timeframe, another type of abortion might be considered a safer option.
An ultrasound scan is the only way to know how long you have been pregnant. This scan will also reveal if there are any complications requiring treatment, such as miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy.
Protect Your Health at A Hope Center
Whether to take the abortion pill or not is a serious decision. Protect your health and safety by talking with a nurse about your current health situation and receiving all the proper screening before an abortion.
We recommend receiving pregnancy testing, STD testing, and an ultrasound to safeguard your health to identify essential details.
We offer all these and more at A Hope Center. Contact us today for a no-cost and confidential appointment.
A Hope Center does not provide or refer for abortions.