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Abortion Aftercare Article
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What Are Some Facts About Abortion?
from:In order to keep the facts about abortion straight, the medical field provides specific terminology for the processes of abortion. Abortion is separated into two categories: spontaneous abortion and induced abortion. Spontaneous Abortion is more commonly referred to as miscarriage. A Spontaneous Abortion happens when trauma occurs and accidentally affects the embryo or fetus, causing the mother’s body to expel it. This is due to natural causes such as genetic problems or disease.
The second category, Induced Abortion, is further separated into two sub-categories: Therapeutic Abortion and Elective Abortion. Therapeutic Abortion is done only to benefit the health of the mother. There are many different reasons that this might be an option for an expectant mother. Some women opt to terminate a pregnancy when the fetus has been found to have a congenital defect that would greatly hinder its development or even end in imminent death. A woman who is expecting multiple births may have to reduce the number of births in order to preserve her own health. These facts about abortion are often misunderstood.
The second sub-category of Induced Abortion is Elective Abortion. Most facts about abortion are greatly skewed because of this type of abortion. Elective Abortion is any abortion that is done for another reason and is the choice of the pregnant woman.
There are three kinds of abortion procedures: Surgical, Chemical, and Herbal. The kind of Surgical Abortion procedure used depends on the duration of the pregnancy. Abortions performed in the first twelve weeks, or trimester, can be done by MVA (Manual Vaccuum Aspiration), EVA (Electric Vacuum Aspiration), or Dilation and Curettage. Between the fifteenth and twenty-sixth weeks of a pregnancy, Dilation and Evacuation can be used. Through the second trimester, techniques such as induced miscarriage (drugs injected into the amniotic fluid), Intact Dilation and Extraction, or a Hysterectomy Abortion can be performed. These are the most misconstrued facts about abortion.
Many people looking for facts about abortion do not know about the option of Chemical or Herbal Abortions. The most common and effective Chemical Abortion method is using either methotrexate or mifepristone, and following that with prostaglandin – there are two available types of this drug: misoprostol is used in the United States, and gemeprost is used in the United Kingdom and Sweden. Misoprostol can be used alone, but it is not as effective as the use of the two drug regimen.
Facts about abortion using herbs are limited, but Herbal Abortions are possible, and are mostly used in folk medicine. Historically, herbs such as tansy, pennyroyal, black cohosh and the extinct silphium were used, but are very dangerous and can cause organ failure and death. Before Roe vs. Wade made abortion legal in the United States – and even nowadays in other countries - knitting needles and clothing hangers were used to cause massive trauma to the uterus and induce miscarriage.