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By Mayo Clinic staffIf you're considering medical abortion, meet with your health care provider to discuss the procedure. Your health care provider will likely:
- Evaluate your medical history and overall health
- Confirm your pregnancy with a physical exam
- Do an ultrasound exam to date the pregnancy and confirm it's not outside the uterus (ectopic pregnancy) or a tumor that developed in the uterus (molar pregnancy)
- Do blood and urine tests
- Explain how the procedure works, the side effects, possible risks and complications
Proceeding with a medical abortion is always a very serious decision and in most cases should not be done without discussions with people you need to support you in such a major step. Talking with your partner, family or friends may help. Talk with your health care provider, spiritual adviser or a counselor to get answers to your questions, help you weigh alternatives and consider the impact the procedure may have on your future.
Keep in mind that no health care provider is required to perform an abortion and that in some states there are certain legal requirements and waiting periods you must follow before proceeding with an abortion.
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Committee on Practice Bulletins — Obstetrics. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 67: Medical management of abortion. Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2005;106:871. Reaffirmed 2011.
- Pregnancy choices: Raising the baby, adoption, and abortion. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/Search?Keyword=abortion. Accessed Feb. 27, 2012.
- Induced abortion. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/Search?Keyword=abortion. Accessed Feb. 27, 2012.
- Clark W, et al. Misoprostol as a single agent for medical termination of pregnancy. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index. Accessed Feb. 27, 2012.
- Spitz IM. Mifepristone for the medical termination of pregnancy. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index. Accessed Feb. 27, 2012.
- Methotrexate. Micromedex Healthcare Series. http://www.micromedex.com. Accessed April 24, 2012.
- Shulman LP, et al. Overview of pregnancy termination. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 27, 2012.
- Misoprostol. Micromedex 2.0. Thomson Reuters. http://www.thomsonhc.com/micromedex2/librarian. Accessed March 23, 2012.
- Templeton A, et al. A request for abortion. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2011:365:2198.
- Gallenberg MM (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic Rochester, Minn. March 26, 2012.
- Harms RW (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic Rochester, Minn. April 12, 2012.
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