Medical Abortion: An International Forum on Policies, Programmes and Services.
17-20 October 2004, Johannesburg, South Africa
En
Medical abortion involves the use of pills to cause a miscarriage that takes place over a period of several days, and is a fundamentally different experience from surgical abortion for both womenand providers. (more…)
Ru
Медикаментозный аборт предусматривает использование таблеток, вызывающих искусственный выкидыш, который происходит в течение нескольких дней, и опыт которого в корне отличается от опыта хирургического аборта как для женщин, так и для поставщиков услуг по прерыванию беременности на ранних стадиях. (more…)
Fr
L’avortement médicamenteux inclut l’administration des pilules afin de provoquer un avortement spontané qui peut avoir lieu au cours d’une période de quelques jours. C’est une expérience totalement différente de l’avortement chirurgical pour les femmes, tout comme pour les prestataires. (more…)
Es
El aborto se realiza mediante el uso de pastillas que causan un aborto espontáneo. La pérdidaocurre en el transcurso de algunos días y es una experiencia totalmente distinta de la del aborto quirúrgico, tanto para las mujeres como para los proveedores. (more…)
Ro
Avortul medicamentos include administrarea pastilelor pentru a cauza un avort spontan în decursul unei perioade de câteva zile şi este ceva total diferit de avortul chirurgical atât pentru femei, cât şi pentru specialiştii în domeniu. (more…)
Medical abortion can make abortion earlier, more accessible, safer, less traumatic, less medicalised and less expensive. It has increased access to safe abortion and reduced maternal mortality, including in legally restricted settings.
Medical abortion has been shown to be safe and effective in both the first and second trimesters of pregnancy, with efficacy rates as high as 95 - 98%. Acceptability among women is high, because medical abortion does not involve surgery or anaesthesia, and is a simple procedure that happens entirely in the woman's body.
Acceptability among providers is high too, because they feel that it is safe and offers women an alternative to surgical abortion, and is a choice that many women prefer.
"Medical abortion" is the use of drugs to terminate a pregnancy. It is sometimes also called non-surgical abortion. The regimen for first trimester medical abortion, registered in more than 30 countries, consists of two drugs, recently included in the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines: mifepristone (an anti-progestogen that blocks progesterone, the hormone necessary to sustain a pregnancy) followed 36 - 48 hours later by misoprostol (a prostaglandin that makes the uterus contract). These drugs can be taken to cause a miscarriage to occur, starting from the time a woman misses her period. Where mifepristone is not available, misoprostol can be used alone to cause a miscarriage to occur.
Unsafe abortions are a major public health problem. As many as 150 million women worldwide who want to limit or space their pregnancies lack access to effective contraception. Even women who use contraception may experience unintended pregnancies, as no contraceptive is 100% effective.
Of 210 million pregnancies yearly, an estimated 46 million end in induced abortion
Of the estimated 19 million unsafe abortions in the world each year, 18.5 million occur in developing countries.
About 68 000 women die each year from unsafe abortion.
Young and unmarried women are often afraid to tell anyone they are pregnant and are more likely to seek terminations from unqualified practitioners. They account for a disproportionate share of death and illness from the complications of dangerous abortions.
“I liked the tablets. See, I did not need to stay in the hospital. With curetting I would have spent two days there. I told my mother-in-law I was going to the market. I did not abort at the hospital although I waited for 3 hours. I was scared, would mother-in-law come to know? How many days I bled.... I was going to the toilet every hour to check. See, we don’t have our own toilet. I felt embarrassed. But it happened when she was out. A little pain was there but that much is to be tolerated. Whatever you would have done, pain is always there. Everything has turned out well. I am very happy now. I will definitely use this method again.”
(From Bela Ganatra’ presentation at ICMA conference, 2004)
Your Opinion Counts Can adolescents use medical abortion?
