Abortion is a serious sexual health concern that requires a lot of discussion. Terminating a pregnancy can have a major impact on your emotional wellness, and so it’s important to be as well-informed as you can before you make the final decision to have an abortion. With that in mind, let’s look at the different types of abortion, and how you might expect your wellbeing to be affected.
According to the Sinclair Intimacy Institute, ‘The clinical definition of the term “abortion” is the termination of a pregnancy, and it is an extremely common event that can occur naturally in a woman’s body before she even realises she is pregnant. Induced abortion, however, is the term to describe intentional abortion procedures. There are several different types of abortion procedures, including non-professional abortion procedures that the pregnant woman or some sother unlicensed professional attempts in order to end the pregnancy. Medical abortion can be done using established medical procedures by a trained medical practitioner, by the use of hormone combinations, or by taking a drug called RU-486.’
There are three types of medical abortion:
1. The Cannula: This is by far the most common abortion procedure. The Sinclair Intimacy Institute explain that this ‘involves insertion of a cannula through a woman’s cervix and removing the foetus and placenta using vacuum aspiration. This procedure generally is used in the first trimester (i.e., the first three months after conception) and accounts for about 90% of all medical abortions. In this procedure, which takes about 5 to 10 minutes and can be performed in a physician’s office, the woman lies on an examining table with her feet in stirrups. A local anaesthetic is administered to numb the woman’s cervix. In some cases, a general anaesthetic may be used to induce sleep, but this is usually not necessary…To insure that the abortion is complete, the physician may insert a spoon-like instrument, called a curette, and checks the walls of the uterus.’
2. Cannula and Forceps: About 10% of abortions are performed after the 12th week of pregnancy, which is where this procedure comes in. It’s quite similar to the procedure described above, but includes the use of forceps. This is because, after the 12th week, the foetus is larger and more firmly attached to the uterine wall, and so needs more than suction in order to be removed. The Sinclair Intimacy Institute notes, ‘The procedure takes up to 30 minutes and may involve the administration of pain medication to the woman.’
3. Chemically Induced Abortion: This occurs past the twenty-second week of development, and involves chemically inducing labour so that the foetus is expelled through your vaginal opening. The Sinclair Intimacy Institute details, ‘This procedure is generally performed in a hospital. A needle is inserted through the abdominal wall into the uterus and a labour-inducing medication (such as prostaglandin, urea, or saline solution or some combination of these) is injected. Within a few hours, the woman begins labour and the foetus is expelled.’
However, regardless of the method you choose, you should make sure that you are checked for blood pressure and heart rate. Women who have undergone an abortion should also be monitored to insure that bleeding and discomfort are limited. After your abortion, your doctor may arrange one or more follow-up appointments for several weeks later to ensure that the procedure has been successful and that you are healthy and coping well. The Sinclair Intimacy Institute adds, ‘In abortions performed before the 13th week of pregnancy, some follow-up surgery, for example, to remove a blood clot or to repair a tear in the cervix, is needed in only 0.5% of cases.’
