Medication and Surgical Abortion. What’s the Difference?
You are confronted with a hard decision to make. We understand that an unexpected pregnancy can be stressful and overwhelming. You are not in this alone.
If exploring the option of abortion, you should know there are two main types – each comes with unique risks. It’s essential to understand at what points in pregnancy require either medication or surgical abortion.
Pregnancy confirmation is needed to understand what type of abortion you are eligible for and confirm your pregnancy’s health before making a decision. Get free pregnancy testing and ultrasound at our center today.
Are You Considering Abortion?
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy. As you may know, the two types of abortion are medication and surgical. You complete medication abortion by consuming certain drugs or going to an abortion clinic for a surgical procedure.
How Medication Abortion (The Abortion Pill) Works
Medication abortion, also known as “the abortion pill,” ends a pregnancy by taking two drugs.
Mifepristone, the first drug, blocks the womb from absorbing progesterone, a necessary hormone for pregnancy progression. Secondly, misoprostol is taken and causes the uterus to contract and remove the pregnancy out of the vagina.
The FDA only approves mifepristone for use within the first 70 days of pregnancy. After that, a surgical abortion could be your only other abortion option.
Risks of Medication Abortion
There are serious risks that come with medication abortion. According to Mayo Clinic, these risks include:
- Incomplete abortion, which may need to be followed by surgical abortion
- Heavy and prolonged bleeding
- Digestive system discomfort
- An ongoing pregnancy (if the procedure fails)
- Infection
- Fever
How Surgical Abortion Works
Dilation & Evacuation (D&E) and Dilation & Curettage (D&C) are the two types of surgical abortion. Each procedure dilates your cervix and uses vacuum aspiration and surgical tools to remove the pregnancy from the uterus.
Only licensed abortion clinics provide surgical abortions. You must understand the risks of surgical abortion before moving forward.
Risks of Surgical Abortion
Each type of surgical abortion use similar processes of termination and come with the same risks, including:
- Perforation of the uterus (when a surgical instrument pokes a hole in the uterus)
- Damage to the cervix
- Scar tissue on the uterine wall
- Infection
- Excessive bleeding
Free & Confidential Support
You may still feel nervous about all the pregnancy decisions you have to make next. We are here to help you get through this time and offer guidance.
First, confirm your pregnancy with free and confidential pregnancy testing and an ultrasound. An ultrasound goes further than a pregnancy test to reveal how far along you are (which shows you what abortion you qualify for), indicates viability (if there is a heartbeat), and the location of your pregnancy (if your pregnancy is growing within the uterus).
Schedule your free and confidential appointment to learn more about your pregnancy options and confirm your pregnancy today. We are here to help.