Complications of Medical Abortion
In general, complications have been uncommon with medical abortion. It has already proven itself to be quite effective and safe. The earlier the pregnancy is at the time of medical abortion, the lower the risk of complications or failure.
There are three forms of failure that can occur with the medical method of abortion. First, there can be heavy bleeding. This occurs one or two percent of the time. In one large study, four women out of 2000 required blood transfusions. In other studies, although some women had heavy bleeding, none required blood transfusions. The rule is: if the patient is soaking two large sanitary pads an hour for more than two hours, she should seek medical attention. We follow patients enrolled in our program very closely and our answering service can reach a clinician day or night for emergencies or urgent questions. Contact Us
The second type of failure is that the pregnancy stops growing but fails to pass, even after the self-administration of the misoprostol pills in the vagina. This occurs one to two percent of the time. This is not an emergency. The failure to pass will be suspected if the patient has no bleeding or only scant bleeding, and it will be detected at the follow-up ultrasound.
The third type of failure is that the pregnancy continues to grow, even after the two medications have been used. We will be able to confirm this at your follow-up ultrasound. This may occur in one to two percent of cases. In this case, the patient should strongly consider having a surgical procedure, since the misoprostol has been known to cause deformities in fetuses exposed to this medication in early pregnancy.
Other complications are very rare. Allergic reactions to the medications are possible. One woman fainted during the abortion. Death as a result of medical abortion is exceedingly rare. Two cases have been reported in all the millions of women who have had this procedure. One died in Europe, many years ago, after using a medication that is not in use in the USA, and another woman died in Canada of infection after medical abortion. Fortunately, infection is very uncommon, and treatable.
All medical studies to-date have demonstrated no known affects on future pregnancies.
