With certain restrictions levied on in-clinic abortion (surgical abortion), women prefer having self-managed medical abortion at home. Medication abortion is a safe and effective method of terminating the pregnancy during the early stages.
Before you administer the abortion pills at home you need to know some safety tips for a medical abortion at home, and some precautions to take before, during, and after the abortion.
How effective is medical abortion at home?
Medical abortion is the process of ending the pregnancy in the early stages with the help of abortion pills. The most common abortion pills used for medication abortion are mifepristone and misoprostol.
This method is considered to be the safe and effective method because of how quick and convenient it is. Also, the success rate of medical abortion at home is around 99%. Medical abortion is effective in the first 9 weeks of the pregnancy. There are hardly any complications during the medical abortion procedure.
There are two methods of performing medical abortion, one is the combination of mifepristone and misoprostol, and the other is only misoprostol. The method of mifepristone and misoprostol is 99% effective, while only misoprostol is 85% effective. Both of these methods will cause cramping, heavy bleeding, and other mild side effects.
Safety measures to take for medical abortion
Although medical abortion is safe, you need to take some safety measures in case of an emergency.
- Keep a stock of all the necessities (water, food)
- Keep stocks of sanitary napkins and disposable panties
- Over-the-counter medications for pain and bleeding
- Keep your phone charged
- Ask a family member or your trusted friend to be with you
- Note down the number of your local urgent care center
- Note down the number of your closest 24-hour emergency room
- Avoid the use of tampons and menstrual cups for bleeding
Follow-up care after medical abortion
Medical abortion is 99% effective and there are rarely any complications reported. The side effects are mild and go away easily within a few days. You can take a pregnancy test at your home, if the result is negative that means the abortion has worked as intended.
But usually two weeks after you complete the abortion procedure, it is important to book an appointment with your healthcare provider to confirm if the abortion is complete or not or if there are any remains of the pregnancy tissues inside the uterus.