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Abortion options

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in Sex & Relationships
What are the options?
How soon can they be performed?

I've searched a bit, but it seems that the older posts (a few years back) have been erased, and most sites only define the maximum fetus age...

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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    They can be performed straight away I believe. Go away will probably be along to give you more info.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    nmrmak wrote: »
    What are the options?
    How soon can they be performed?

    There's two options, medical abortion and surgical abortion. What you have depends some part on how far gone the pregnancy is. I did know, but the numbers just aren't coming into my head.

    But yeah, like Ballerina said, Go_away is really good to talk to about these things.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm asking because my gf *might* be pregnant, which none of us wants to happen, so in case it's not just a late period, we have to consider the options...
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The medical one is where she has to take a series of tablets that cause a miscarriage. I think that's only up to 9 weeks though. After that it's surgical, but i think you can have a surgical even if you can have a medical one because the medical one is quite painful and can be drawn out. It depends alot on the clinics i think.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    :blush:

    Terminations can be performed as soon as a gestational sac or embryo can be seen in the uterus via ultrasound. So this can normally be from about 5 - 6 weeks onwards. Some surgeons will operate from 5 weeks [in the context of surgical abortions] but the risk of 'missing' the embryo as it's so small is slightly increased. They normally check the uterus is clear afterwards by ultrasound though, and also check the removed pregnancy tissue.

    Early medical abortion is available up to 9 weeks gestation. It involves taking a series of tablets to end the pregnancy. The first set stop the foetal growth, the second (taken 24 or 48 hours later) cause a series of powerful contractions so the pregnancy is expelled through bleeding. It's very important after this to attend any check-ups to ensure that the pregnancy is gone and the uterus is clear.

    Surgical abortions up to 14 weeks are usually done via manual vacuum aspiration, where the pregnancy is gently suctioned out (often talk of 'powerful suction' but it's actually 26mmHg) into what looks like a very large syringe. It can be done without anaesthetic, but I'd always recommend some degree of sedation. It takes about 5 - 10 minutes to do.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Is the manual vacuum aspiration painful for the girl and is hospitalisation required? How soon can it be performed? As soon as pregnancy is diagnosed?

    Edit: no mention of how safe it is?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    No, I think it's from 6 weeks ish.

    But up to 9 weeks you could just take the pills which would be better.

    I actually remember some of my sex ed :p. Best person to discuss this with in all honesty though is a doctor. Have you done a pregnancy test yet?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    There's always going to be a degree of discomfort even if she has a general anaesthetic as there will be some light cramping afterwards. At our clinic, people who have no anaesthetic say the pain is intense, but short lived. With a general anaesthetic, or conscious sedation, then obviously any discomfort during the procedure is not felt, or not remembered.

    Hospitalisation is not required, it can normally be treated as a day case, but I work for a private clinic and not in a hospital so it can vary. It can be performed as soon as an appointment can be made really. Do bear in mind though that she would have to have an initial consultation to get the relevant legal paperwork done, and checks like blood tests (normally just a finger prick) and ultrasound. If no embryo is seen on screen in the uterus, then it's not performed, so if the pregnancy is diagnosed early, and the LMP shows a gestation between 4 - 6 weeks, it might be harder to see on ultrasound.

    If you go private, or get a GP referral to a private clinic, it's possible to have the consultation and abortion on the same day.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thank you for the answers.

    I just wanted to get informed about this kind of stuff. We haven't done a pegnancy test, but she is a few days late (i know that this doesn't automatically mean that she's preggers, but i'm still just as nervous).

    Hope this info helps someone else as much as it helped me.

    Thanks again!
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Edit: no mention of how safe it is?

    Generally, it's a very safe procedure. 11 times safer than childbirth in fact (source: AGI), despite what some anti-choice sites might say. As I said, it takes about 10 minutes to do, so the general anaesthetic isn't even a 'true' general anaesthetic with intubation etc.

    The immediate risks however, include uterine perforation (I can't get the stats up, but I think it's less than 1 in 1000, or 1 in 10,000) bleeding (again, the pdf won't open) 'missing' the pregnancy (only in very early cases) and retained pregnancy tissue.

    Risks of medical abortion include: foetal abnormality if the woman wants to continue the pregnancy after taking the first tablets, the pregnancy continuing, unpleasant side effects of misoprostol including diarrhoea, vomiting etc.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    A quick follow up: luckily, she didn't end up preggers, had her period...

    Thanks for the info anyway, i'm sure someone else might use it.

    @mods: maybe it would be a good idea to lock the thread, as i got an answer to the question?
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