Term of termination of pregnancy

According to statistics, every year on the planet, an average of 50 million abortions are done. Unfortunately, often there are situations when a woman does not want to keep her pregnancy for one reason or another. If the pregnant woman has decided to still have an abortion, she should know both the timing of the termination of the pregnancy, and the very essence of this procedure, as well as all possible risks and dangers.

How long before pregnancy can be terminated?

Artificial abortion (abortion) can be done both in the presence of strong medical indications, and at the insistence of the woman herself, unwilling to bear and give birth to a child. One of the conditions for this procedure is the time limit, and, if possible, it should not be more than twelve weeks. The term of pregnancy is one of the first questions that a doctor will ask you, because this can determine the way in which an artificial abortion is performed.

The deadline for termination of pregnancy is up to 22 weeks: such abortion is considered late.

Currently, there are many ways of conducting artificial abortion, and here are the main ones:

• drug abortion - this option is one of the safest, but is used only up to 6 weeks gestation;
• vacuum-termination of pregnancy - used in the early period of pregnancy. The method is the creation of a negative pressure in the uterus to extract the contents;
• surgical termination of pregnancy - one of the most common classical ways of abortion, is performed under general anesthesia with the help of surgical instruments.

A pregnant woman who plans to interrupt the gestation process should be aware of the possible consequences and complications of abortion: this is the development of bleeding or inflammatory reaction of the reproductive system, suppression of the function of the appendages and adrenal system, the inability to have children in the future, the risk of ectopic pregnancy, mastopathy.

After the artificial termination of pregnancy should be protected for at least 12 months. Pregnancy following abortion should be controlled by the doctor from the very beginning of its development, as there are risks of spontaneous abortion.

Medication abortion, the duration of which exceeds 6-8 weeks, is not recommended. For medical abortion, a fairly well-known contraceptive drug, Postinor, is often used. This remedy is most effective in the first few days after unprotected intercourse, then its effectiveness is significantly reduced. If the implantation has already taken place, the use of this drug is inappropriate. Note that Postinor may cause some side effects, including dyspeptic disorders, bleeding, and vomiting.

If the countdown of pregnancy has gone no longer for a day, but for weeks, you will have to turn to stronger drugs:

• Mifegin is an antiprogestagenic drug used to interrupt the early periods of pregnancy (up to 42 days). The scheme of taking the drug is determined by the doctor and passes under his supervision;
• Mesoprostol is a synthetic analogue of prostaglandins, causes shrinkage of the uterine walls, is used until 6-8 weeks of gestation;
• mifepristone is an antiprogestagen, can be used alone, or in combination with mesoprostol. It can also be used in later terms for the potentiation of labor during intrauterine fetal death;
• Methotrexate is a cytotoxic drug, an antimetabolite. The drug is effective, however, it has many side effects: diarrhea, stomatitis, oral ulcers, bleeding gums, hair loss, anemia, a tendency to bleeding, inflammatory processes in the liver and kidneys.

There are a lot of contraindications to medical abortion. First of all, this term is only up to 6-8 weeks. Contraindications include endocrine pathologies, diseases of the urinary system, liver, heart, CNS.

Interruption of pregnancy in the early stages

The abortion, produced directly when an existing unwanted pregnancy is detected, is considered the least dangerous, that is, as soon as possible. In early pregnancy, the fetus is still extremely small, which allows for an interruption procedure, minimizing the possibility of complications.

Most often up to 5-6 weeks of vacuum-aspiration (mini-abortion). This method is the purification of the uterine cavity by creating a vacuum. The advantages of this method are in the absence of mechanical damaging effects on the mucous uterus.

If the pregnant patient calls for help on time, she gives a smear and ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy's pregnancy. A smear is needed to determine if there is a hidden infection that can trigger complications during an abortion. Sometimes, before the abortion, one has to cure the inflammatory process in the genitals, which takes a long time to lose the opportunity to carry out an artificial abortion in the early stages of pregnancy.

Terms of interruption of pregnancy tablets - up to 6-8 weeks. During this period, the drugs prescribed by the doctor are taken, which can provoke the contractile activity of the uterus, thereby interrupting the pregnancy. Some drugs do not affect the musculature of the uterus, and make its walls unadapted for fixing the fetal egg, so the pregnancy breaks down. After taking the pills, abortion can occur immediately, or after a few days: as a rule, it is accompanied by a general malaise and allocation of a large amount of blood from the genital tract. This condition of the patient should be completely controlled by the doctor. The use of drugs for drug-induced abortion of pregnancy is itself CATEGORALLY FORBIDDEN. After this kind of abortion, the doctor examines the woman for another two weeks to make sure that the uterus has cleared completely. If this does not happen, surgery may be prescribed.

The term of more than six weeks is, as a rule, the indicator for surgical termination of pregnancy.

Termination of pregnancy at a later date

At the latest time, when it is still possible to interrupt pregnancy (from 13 to 22 weeks), this is done solely for the health of a woman or the development of the fetus.

The medical indication for the artificial termination of pregnancy is:

• severe cardiac and vascular pathology, central nervous system, urinary system, severe metabolic disorder, blood disease in women;
• complicated pregnancy, development of bleeding, pre-eclampsia;
• chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus, defects in the development of the embryo, the death of an unborn child.

Among the methods of interrupting the gestation process in late terms can be identified:

• surgical method (conducting cesarean section, vaginal or abdominal surgery);
• a medicamentous method of strengthening the contractile capacity of the uterus (the so-called artificial birth).

Abortion of pregnancy on a long term can turn into a woman for the development of various complications. Therefore, the patient must necessarily be informed of the likely consequences of abortion:

• rupture of the cervix. If this happens, it is sutured, but later, when a woman becomes pregnant and wants to endure a baby, there may be some difficulties. These include the development of ischemic-cervical insufficiency, or incomplete cervical dilating during labor;
• damage to the walls of the uterus. Occurs rarely, but it is considered a rather dangerous complication of induced abortion. If this happens, use emergency surgery;
• development of bleeding. Such complication most often occurs with drug abortion;
• residual elements of the fetal egg in the uterus. Requires compulsory timely treatment.

Among the complications that do not occur immediately after the abortion, and after a while, it should be noted:

• inflammatory process of the endometrium, which develops in response to getting an infectious agent during the procedure of abortion. It can provoke the development of purulent pathology, the disruption of the structure of endometrial tissue, which can subsequently become one of the factors of infertility;
• inflammatory reaction in the appendages and tubes, which can lead to the development of obstruction of the tubes and adhesions;
• malfunctions of the monthly cycle due to hormonal imbalance;
• endometrioid tissue proliferation;
• severe course of subsequent pregnancies, risk of miscarriage or birth of a premature baby;
• the risk of developing an ectopic location for subsequent pregnancy due to tubal adhesions;
• impossibility to conceive a child.

To somewhat reduce the risk of complications after abortion, you should always follow the advice of your gynecologist. Sometimes it is necessary to undergo antibacterial preventive treatment in order to protect themselves from possible infection during pregnancy termination.

If the abortion was performed for any of the medical indications, then the next pregnancy should be fully screened and, possibly, treated to avoid a recurrence of events.

The price of drug abortion

Before making an appointment with a doctor about the issue of abortion, most women try to find out how much this procedure costs and what types of services should be included in its cost.

The price of a medical termination of pregnancy is usually made up of the total cost of incoming services:

• a pregnancy test, which is conducted in order to accurately verify the duration of pregnancy (most often for this purpose, a blood test for β-hCG);
• a general blood test, a swab from the cervical canal for infection;
• specialist consultation (there are usually two of them: before and after an abortion);
• the cost of immediate medication for abortion;
• Ultrasound examination before and after the procedure.

Treatment of possible complications, additional days of hospital stay in the previously declared cost, as a rule, do not enter.

In the budget (state) clinics, the Chamber and some procedures may be free, while private institutions provide only paid services. For this reason, to make abortion as cheap as possible, many women turn to budget polyclinics and women's clinics.

It should be noted that the independent purchase and receipt of abortifacients are not only unreasonable, but also categorically prohibited. Perhaps, initially you will save some money. But in the future you can lose not only health, but life as well.

For the same reason, it is not advisable to economize by enrolling in an unknown dubious clinic, which does not possess the necessary documentation, which authorizes the appropriate procedures. Remember that any clinic must be accredited. This accreditation is always accompanied by documents, which indicate the list of procedures allowed to be conducted in this medical institution. This list should include medical abortion. If in the clinic you were given a license but did not show the documents for accreditation, it is highly recommended not to interrupt pregnancy in this clinic.

The cost of medical abortion in medical institutions in Kyiv varies from 1350 to 3000 UAH. At the clinic's cash desk, always first (!) Specify whether the declared value is final, or you will have to pay extra for any services afterwards.

After the medical termination of pregnancy is recommended to restore the menstrual function under the supervision of a specialist. Sexual life after the procedure is allowed after 14 days.

Before you go to the clinic for an abortion, be sure to weigh the pros and cons, assess the timing of abortion, remember that at the cost of termination of pregnancy can be your health and the usefulness of your family.