Medical abortion - the illusion of security

Medical abortion - the illusion of security
Features

medical abortion Medical abortion - is abortion, which is done with the help of special preparations. To do this, apply misoprostol in combination with mifepristone or methotrexate.

When you can do medical abortion

Before you can make any kind of abortion, it is necessary to the doctor confirmed that the woman is pregnant, and established pregnancy. In modern medicine, a term adopted to measure the number of days that have passed since the first day of the last menstrual period in a woman. Medical abortion can be done as soon as pregnancy is confirmed. The lower the gestational age, the better it will work preparations. If the time exceeds nine weeks (or 63 days), medical abortion can not be done.

How do the drugs for medical abortion

Mifepristone was developed specifically as a means to stimulate abortion. Its use was first authorized in France and China in 1988. Since then, it has successfully been used by millions of women around the world.

Mifepristone is in tablet form. It blocks the production of the hormone progesterone, which is necessary for development of pregnancy. Without progesterone begins peeling the endometrium, the cervix opens and starts bleeding.
Methotrexate is used since 1953, but originally it was used to treat certain types of cancer. The researchers then found other properties of the drug, among them - the ability to terminate the pregnancy. Usually, methotrexate is administered by injection a woman, but it can also be taken in pill form. This medication stops the process of embryo implantation, which occurs in the first few weeks after conception Conception - as the emerging life .
Misoprostol. No more than two days after mifepristone or methotrexate woman takes a second drug - misoprostol Mifepristone and misoprostol for abortion: two components of a single method . Misoprostol tablets (they are both vaginal and intended for oral administration) to cause uterine contractions, whereby it is emptied and the pregnancy ends.

How long does the medical abortion

Since then, as the first woman to take the drugs for medical abortion before the pregnancy is completed, it may take from several hours to three to four weeks . Duration of treatment depends in part on which drugs were used for abortion, and in part on when the woman has taken misoprostol . As a rule, when using mifepristone pregnancy is terminated faster than when a woman takes methotrexate . Most of the women who took mifepristone, abortion occurs within four hours after taking misoprostol . In 95% of cases during the week comes complete abortion - ie, the fertilized egg from the uterus completely tricked out . When using methotrexate in 80-85% of patients have an abortion takes place within two weeks after the first dose abort means . In some cases, the abortion process takes more time, and sometimes require additional doses of misoprostol .

What happens during a medical abortion and after

Some women after administration of the first drug begins vaginal bleeding. It may be easy spreadable and can resemble plentiful monthly. A few hours after taking misoprostol spasms usually start in the abdomen and bleeding - they may be more intense than during menstruation. In most cases, women are the first drug in the hospital and misoprostol - at home, and there's going expulsion of the embryo from the uterus. Advance patient explains in detail how the abortion will occur, and what side effects to expect.

The most common side effects of medical abortion Medical abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol: how it happens are caused by misoprostol. Apart from cramps and bleeding, the patient may appear headache, nausea, vomiting; Women often complain of diarrhea, chills, fever, lethargy. If the symptoms are similar to flu symptoms do not resolve within days after taking misoprostol, you should call your doctor.

In the vaginal secretions of blood clots typically present, but the embryo usually not visible; after he was tricked out of the uterus, cramps and the bleeding will diminish. However, vaginal bleeding may continue for one or two weeks after a medical abortion.

The first month after the abortion, some women are more intense and prolonged than usual, but after one or two months the menstrual cycle returns to normal.

Possible complications

In 95% -98% of women of a medical abortion is successful, with no major complications. However, at about 0.5% -2% of cases, women need vacuum cleaning of the uterus due to heavy or prolonged bleeding. Approximately half of these patients severe bleeding begins 3-5 weeks after taking the drug aborts. Approximately 0.1% -0.2% of patients, medical abortion, due to heavy bleeding required a blood transfusion.

Approximately 1% of the drugs do not work as expected, and continues to grow an embryo. To complete the abortion, the patient needs to be done scraping of the uterus. The choice in favor of maintaining pregnancy in this case is extremely undesirable, because after receiving the first drug for medical abortion is likely to develop severe birth defects in the fetus is very large.

In North America, from the 1.1 million women who have a medical abortion, seven patients died. In one case, death was the result of an ectopic pregnancy, and in the other six it was the cause of sepsis. Communication between taking the drugs for medical abortion and death of patients has not been established, and there is currently no reason to believe that the correct medical abortion can threaten the patient's life.