What is medical abortion?
Prior to the abortion, you will be summoned to a preliminary examination, where your abdomen will be ultrasound scanned, so you will be able to see how many weeks you are pregnant. Even if you have been examined by the doctor when you were referred for an abortion.
If you have not yet been tested for chlamydia in connection with your abortion referral, you will also be tested for this. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions about the abortion to either a nurse or a doctor at the same time as you are being examined.
The medicine
With the medical abortion, you are given two types of medicine, one day apart. First, you are given a tablet that causes the uterus to no longer respond to the pregnancy-preserving hormone that your body is making. Therefore, the pregnancy will perish. Once you have taken the tablet, the abortion is already underway.
It is important that you complete the rest of the treatment once you have started, as the medication can cause birth defects if the pregnancy continues.
The medicine causes the uterus to contract. Some experience nausea, vomiting and diarrhea from the medicine. Also it is not unusual that you start bleeding from your vagina and that you will feel pain. The pain can be alleviated with common over-the-counter medicines. If you are bleeding, avoid tampons, intercourse, bathtubs and bathing in the sea.
The abortion
The day after the first tablet, you will have to take the second medicine. It takes place at your own home, if you are healthy and less than 9 weeks pregnant. You get the medicine either as a regular tablet or as a suppository to be inserted into the vagina. Some women may get headaches, nausea or vomiting from the medicine, so you will be offered medicine to avoid thi.
The medication causes the uterus to contract and expel the pregnancy tissue. If you are not already bleeding, you will start bleeding now. The bleeding will usually be heavier than in a normal period and there may be lumps in it. Most women miscarry after a few hours.
Because of the bleeding, the situation and the pain medication, you should not drive or be alone after taking the tablets and the first night after the abortion.
Pain after the abortion
After the abortion, you will bleed more heavily than during a normal period.
Bleeding may last for 3-4 weeks, but will subside after the first week.
You will usually also have light period pains for the first few days. If you have previously given birth, you may experience it as after-labour for a few days.
Any complications
Heavy bleeding for 1-2 weeks after a medical abortion may necessitate a curettage.
After the abortion, there is a risk of abdominal inflammation. Therefore, you must not take a bath, sea bath, go to a swimming pool, use tampons/menstrual cups or have intercourse without a condom as long as you are bleeding. Instead, you should shower and use pads.
You should take it easy for 1-2 days after the abortion. Some women need a few sick days, while others can go to work the day after the abortion. You have the option of asking the doctor for a sick leave.
Normally you will get your period 4-6 weeks after the abortion. If it takes longer, you should contact your doctor.
Follow-up after the abortion
You must come for a check-up at the hospital or with the specialist 7-14 days after the abortion. Here you will have a blood test taken to check that you are no longer pregnant.
If the blood test suggests that you are still pregnant, you will have an ultrasound scan to check that there are no remnants of pregnancy tissue in the uterus. If you can see that the uterus has not been completely emptied, it is necessary to take a scraping.
You must contact your own doctor, the specialist, the on-call doctor or the emergency room if you:
- Bleeding profusely
- Get stronger pain than menstrual pain
- Have foul-smelling discharge
- Get a fever
Contraception after abortion
You can become pregnant immediately after the abortion procedure. It is therefore important that, before the abortion, you decide with yourself what type of contraception you want to use after the abortion and in the future to avoid getting pregnant again.
You can talk to your doctor both before and after the procedure about which contraceptive method suits you best.
Some forms of contraception such as the IUD and IUD can be inserted at the same time as the abortion procedure itself - this can be an advantage because you may already be sedated.
You can read more about the different forms of contraception here.