Having an abortion is a difficult decision to make. You must learn about various abortion procedures, side effects, and potential risks. You also need to know what to expect afterward
because an incomplete abortion can lead to severe bleeding and infection.
Women risk incomplete abortions after a medically or surgically induced abortion. Get reliable information before you move forward.
What Is an Incomplete Abortion?
An incomplete abortion means the pregnancy has ended, but contractions or surgery failed to remove all pregnancy tissue. You can experience an incomplete abortion with a natural miscarriage or an elective abortion.
The Mayo Clinic lists “incomplete abortion” first as one risk of medical abortion. The abortion pill method is a medical abortion because it uses two drugs to terminate a pregnancy.
Since a woman administers the abortion pill at her home, she lacks medical supervision. Therefore, it’s vitally important to know what to look for with an incomplete abortion.
Signs to Look For
According to an article by the National Library of Medicine, a woman experiences severe bleeding, lower abdominal pain, fever, and uterine cramping with an incomplete abortion.
Cramping can be strong, like labor pains. A woman may pass blood clots or pieces of tissue. Fever is a sign of infection; if not treated quickly, it can lead to shock. According to the above article, complications from an incomplete abortion could also include severe hemorrhage or sepsis.
Sepsis can cause extremely low blood pressure and organ failure. It can be fatal.
Additional complications can occur if the pregnancy is ectopic. When a pregnancy implants somewhere other than the uterus, it is considered ectopic and cannot be treated by abortion.
How Do You Treat an Incomplete Abortion?
It is essential to follow up with the abortion provider to determine if your abortion expelled all of the pregnancy. Another pregnancy test and ultrasound may be necessary for diagnosis.
The provider may use additional drugs or a surgical procedure to remove the remaining tissue. The severity of the symptoms determines the method used.
What More Do I Need To Know?
If you have discovered you are unexpectedly pregnant and considering abortion, talk with a member of our trained staff about procedures, side effects, and other potential risks. Although we do not provide or refer for abortion, we can provide factual information.
Schedule a no-cost pre-abortion consultation with us today. We’re just a call or text away.