The medication abortion does not work 100% of the time. After you take the abortion pill, we will ask you to do a few things to make sure that you are no longer pregnant.
3-4 days after you take the medication, we will text you a reminder to think about your body’s response to the medications. This self-assessment is four questions about your experience. If you answer ‘NO’ to any of these questions it is important that you call us as soon as possible. You may need to come back to our office to make sure that you are no longer pregnant.
You will also take a pregnancy test at home about five weeks later. We will give you a test to take home with you at your first visit when we give you the medications. If the test is negative, no more follow up is needed. If your pregnancy test is positive five weeks after the abortion you may still be pregnant, your hormone levels may be going down slowly, or you may be pregnant again. Call us immediately if this happens so we can schedule you for an office visit and more treatment if needed.
If you are still pregnant after you take the abortion pill, you have two options usually. You can take more medicine if you are still less than 11.0 weeks pregnant or have an in-office abortion procedure as long as you are less than 24.0 weeks pregnant.
Occasionally, only some of the pregnancy tissue will pass. If this happens you could have heavy bleeding, develop an infection, or both. An in-office suction procedure (D&C), more medications, more tests or treatments could help to prevent these complications.
Sometimes clots in the uterus can cause cramping and pain in the belly and/or lower back. If this happens, you may need a suction procedure (D&C) or more medication to help pass the clots.
If the medication abortion does not work, you will not be asked to make any extra payments to FPA. You must return to our office if you think that you are still pregnant or if our staff ask you to come back because we think you may still be pregnant. If you need to go to another clinic or hospital to complete the abortion for medical reasons or because you are more than 24 weeks pregnant, you will be responsible for the cost of that care. For this reason, we encourage you to come back to our office as soon as possible if you have any concerns that the medication may not have worked.
If you know that it will be hard or impossible for you to come back to our office, the medication abortion may not be the best choice for you.