ABOUT THE DISEASE

Medical termination of pregnancy (either through medicines or surgically) i.e removing the foetus and placenta from the mother`s uterus, is known as abortion.

CAUSES

An abortion might be resorted to in any of the following conditions:
- When the foetus has a birth defect or genetic problem
- When the pregnancy is harmful to the woman`s health (therapeutic abortion)
- When the mother may not wish to be pregnant (elective abortion)

TREATMENT METHODS

A nonsurgical, abortion can be done within 7 weeks from the first day of the woman`s last period. Medicines are used to help the body remove the foetus and placenta tissue, for eg. mifepristone, misoprostol, prostaglandins, etc.

If the pregnancy has already crossed 7 weeks, the only option is to go for a surgical abortion. Surgical abortion uses a vacuum to remove the foetus and related pregnancy material from the uterus.

Although mostly this is a very safe procedure however it might sometime lead to the following problems:
• Damage to the womb
• Uterine perforation (accidental)
• Excessive bleeding
• Infection
• Scarring of the inside of the uterus.

In most cases physical recovery starts in a few days however bleeding might persist for 8-10 days.

You may also like to learn about:

Miscarriage
Infertility
Vaginal bleeding
Uterine septum
Growth failure
Blocked Fallopian tubes