Now that you have made the choice to terminate you have two abortion methods made available to you at Femi-Care Surgery Center.

Surgical Abortion
Contrary to the many rumors out there, surgical abortion is one of the safest types of medical procedures. Abortions provided before 14 weeks have a 97% success rate. Of the 3% only 2.5% report minor complications and less than 0.5% report more serious complications.

The surgical procedure has its pros and cons, so be sure to take them into consideration when deciding which method is best for you. The surgical abortion is done by vacuum aspiration method. The procedure itself is over in about 5 minutes, the longest parts of the wait is your paperwork, blood work, and consult with the physician.

You can plan on being at our office anywhere from 2-4 hours. You will be monitored by our staff until you meet the requirements to be discharged. Sleep sedation is offered to make the procedure painless for you. You will be asleep for about 5 minutes. When you are transferred to the recovery room, the nurse will manage your pain. You will have some cramping that can be managed with ibuprofen. Surgical abortion is one of the safest methods performed.

The biggest disadvantage is the wait time. The procedure can be painful that’s why we recommend general anesthesia. You can have off and on bleeding all the way up until you get your menstrual, which is about 4-6 weeks after the date of your procedure. It is very important to remember you can still get pregnant, we recommend using extra protection until the birth control becomes effective.

Medical Abortion - RU486/Abortion Pill (Methotrexate/Misoprostil)
The biggest advantage with the medical abortion is no surgery is required and can be done in the safety of your own home. This method can only be used for early pregnancies. The effectiveness is approximately 95%.

The Methotrexate regimen can be done before the pregnancy is visible by sonogram. With the Mifepristone regimen, you will come to the office and consult with the doctor, sonogram and all other necessary labs, etc. will be performed. Mifepristone, taken orally, blocks the action of progesterone, causing the uterine lining to thin and the pregnancy to detach. This will be taken at the office on your first visit. You will be given a second set of pills called Misoprostil to take home with you. You are to take this later on that night, we recommend taking the pain medication provided by the doctor at the same time. Do not wait until cramping starts, you have anywhere from moderate to severe cramping which is managed by Tylenol and Codeine. The Misoprostil induces uterine contractions, helps soften the cervix and increases the effectiveness of Mifepristone to 95-98%. Anesthesia is not required and this method is FDA approved for terminating early pregnancies.

The disadvantages are not being monitored by our medical staff. After 7 weeks insurance companies stop covering medical terminations. Requires at least 2 visits and can take days or, rarely, weeks to complete. Post procedure bleeding may last longer than the surgical method.

It is very important to weigh your options and decide which method you are more comfortable with. If you are undecided you can always make the appointment and decide once you speak with the physician.