Medical Risks
The risk of complications for the woman increases with advancing gestational age. (See the previous pages - Methods & Medical Risks; for a description of the abortion procedure that your doctor will be using and the specific risks listed in those pages.)

The following is a description of the risks cited in those pages:

• Pelvic Infection (sepsis): Bacteria (germs) from the vagina or cervix may enter the uterus and cause an infection. Antibiotics may clear up such an infection. In rare cases, a repeat suction, hospitalization or surgery may be needed. Infection rates are less than 1% for suction curettage, 1.5% for D&E, and 5% for labor induction.

• Incomplete abortion: Fetal parts or other products of pregnancy may not be completely emptied from the uterus, requiring further medical procedures. Incomplete abortion may result in infection and bleeding. The reported rate of such complications is less than 1% after a D&E; whereas, following a labor induction procedure, the rate may be as high as 36%.

• Blood clots in the uterus: Blood clots that cause severe cramping occur in about 1% of all abortions. The clots usually are removed by a repeat suction curettage.

• Heavy bleeding (hemorrhage): Some amount of bleeding is common following an abortion. Heavy bleeding (hemorrhaging) is not common and may be treated by repeat suction, medication or, rarely, surgery. Ask the doctor to explain heavy bleeding and what to do if it occurs.

• Cut or torn cervix: The opening of the uterus (cervix) may be torn while it is being stretched open to allow medical instruments to pass through and into the uterus. This happens in less than 1% of first trimester abortions.

• Perforation of the uterus wall: A medical instrument may go through the wall of the uterus. The reported rate is 1 out of every 500 abortions. Depending on the severity, perforation can lead to infection, heavy bleeding or both. Surgery may be required to repair the uterine tissue, and in the most severe cases hysterectomy may be required.

• Anesthesia-related complications: As with other surgical procedures, anesthesia increases the risk of complications associated with abortion. The reported risks of anesthesia-related complications is around 1 per 5,000 abortions.

• Rh Immune Globulin Therapy: Protein material found on the surface of red blood cells is known as the Rh Factor. If a woman and her fetus have different Rh factors, she must received medication to prevent the development of antibodies that would endanger future pregnancies (See page 18 for additional information on Rh Immune Globulin Therapy.)

Future childbearing: Early abortions that are not complicated by infection do not cause infertility or make it more difficult to carry a later pregnancy to term. Complications associated with an abortion may make it difficult to become pregnant in the future or carry a pregnancy to term.

Cancer of the breast: Several studies have found no overall increase in risk of developing breast cancer after an induced abortion, while several studies do show an increase risk. There seems to be consensus that this issue needs further study. Women who have a strong family history of breast cancer or who have clinical findings of breast disease should seek medical advice from their physician irrespective of their decision to become pregnant or have an abortion.

Because every person is different, one woman's emotional reaction to an abortion may be different from another's. After an abortion, a woman may have both positive and negative feelings, even at the same time. One woman may feel relief, both that the procedure is over and that she is no longer pregnant.

Another woman may feel sad that she was in a position where all of her choices were hard ones. She may feel sad about ending the pregnancy. For a while after the abortion she also may feel a sense of emptiness or guilt, wondering whether or not her decision was right.

Some women who describe these feelings find they go away with time. Others find them more difficult to overcome.

Certain factors can increase the chance that a woman may have a difficult adjustment to an abortion. One of these is not having any counseling before consenting to an abortion. When help and support from family and friends are not available, a woman's adjustment to the decision may be more of a problem.

Other reasons why a woman's long-term response to an abortion can be poor may be related to past events in her life. For example, negative feelings could last longer if she has not had much practice making major life decisions or already has serious emotional problems.

Talking with a counselor or physician may help a woman to consider her decision fully before she takes any action.

Women who are more likely to experience problems during and after a pregnancy are those who did not obtain prenatal care early in the pregnancy and/or didn't continue with that care and those with generally poor health and life styles, e.g., smoking, alcohol and drug use. Continuing a pregnancy and delivering a baby is usually a safe, healthy process. Based on data from the CDC, the risk of the woman dying as a direct result of pregnancy and childbirth is less than 10 in 100,000 live births.

Continuing your pregnancy also includes a risk of experiencing complications that are not always life-threatening.

• Caesarean section (C/S) delivery. Occurs in 20 out of every 100 births.

• Infection. Approximately 4 out of every 100 women experience an infection after childbirth and are treated with antibiotics. Lack of treatment may lead to infertility or more serious infections.

• Bleeding. Heavy bleeding may occur as a result of clotting problems, tears in the placenta prior to delivery or if pieces of the placenta remain in the uterus after delivery.

Need for Rh Immune Globulin: As part of prenatal care, the woman will have a blood test to find out her blood type. If the pregnant woman is Rh negative and the father is Rh positive, she can make antibodies (sensitization) that can attack the red blood cells of the fetus if the fetus is Rh positive. This sensitization can occur any time fetal blood mixes with the mothers' blood; during pregnancy or after an abortion, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, or amniocentesis.

To prevent the development of the antibodies the woman can receive shots (immunizations) of Rh immune globulin (rhIg), one at 28 weeks of pregnancy and the other following a miscarriage or delivery of a baby. The only known side effect of the immunization for the woman is soreness from the shot or a slight fever. There is no risk of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with the globulin. The approximate cost of the immunizations is fifty dollars ($50).

If the woman who is Rh negative does not receive the Rh immune globulin, the fetus' red blood cells may be damaged, leading to anemia, serious illness or death of the fetus or newborn. (See page 17 for additional information on Rh Immune Globulin Therapy relating to an abortion.)

Causes of Complications in Pregnancy

• Severe bleeding

• Blood clots in the lungs

• High blood pressure

• Seizures, strokes

• Severe infection

• Abnormal functioning of the heart

• Anesthesia-related complications and death.

Altogether, these causes account for 80% of all deaths relating to pregnancy. Unknown or uncommon causes account for the remaining 20% of deaths relating to pregnancy. Women who have chronic severe diseases are at greater risk of death than are healthy women.

Click Here To The Fifth Section:

PREGNANCY, CHILDBIRTH, AND NEWBORN CARE

[Home] [Up] [Office Info] [Abortion] [Birth Control] [Pregnancy] [Women's Health]

Last modified: 05/04/08 09:15:45 AM