What are Abortion Pills?

You can now get a lot of information about birth control pills as well as other methods of contraception quite easily. But what is the outcome when your contraceptive fails and you end up with an unwanted pregnancy? Termination of pregnancy seems to be the only available option in such circumstances. Surgical termination of pregnancy is the most opted for method till date. However, there are also pills available, which when taken orally can induce miscarriage, very early in the pregnancy.

Drugs- One of the most common ‘Abortion pills’ , Mifeprex contains a combination of misoprostol and mifepristone. Both these drugs have been approved by the FDA. Mifeprex has been known to terminate a pregnancy successfully within the initial eight weeks of conception.

Mifepristone also called RU-486 withdraws the hormone progesterone causing the uterus to shed its lining. The whole process may be accompanied by bleeding. Mifepristone, on the other hand, is generally given in an abortion clinic and has to be followed by another drug called Misoprostol within twenty seven hours of taking the first drug. Both these drugs in combination cause contraction of uterus leading to abortion.

Side effects- There are no serious side effects associated with abortion pills. Most women may experience bleeding and cramps. Small blood clots are ejected from the body before the pregnancy terminates completely.  Nausea, Vomiting and Diarrhea are common complaints during uterine contraction. Some women may have to undergo blood transfusion due to heavy bleeding. But such cases are extremely rare.

Precautions - On the whole, abortion pills are fairly safe to use and can be taken in the privacy of your own home or an abortion clinic. Recuperation time is also minimal as there is no surgical procedure involved. However, it is mandatory that you go in for a follow-up session at the abortion clinic in order to ensure the successful termination of pregnancy.