The medication abortion does not work 100% of the time. After you take the abortion pill, we will ask you to do a few things to make sure that you are no longer pregnant.

3-4 days after you take the medication, we will text you a reminder to think about your body’s response to the medications. This self-assessment is four questions about your experience. If you answer ‘NO’ to any of these questions, it is important that you call us as soon as possible. You may need to come back to our office to make sure that you are no longer pregnant.

You will also take a pregnancy test at home about five weeks later. We will give you a test to take home with you at your first visit when we give you the medications. If the test is negative, no more follow up is needed. If your pregnancy test is positive five weeks after the abortion, you may still be pregnant, your hormone levels may be going down slowly, or you may be pregnant again. Call us immediately if this happens so we can schedule you for an office visit and more treatment if needed.

If you are still pregnant after you take the abortion pill, you have two options usually. You can take more medicine sometimes or have an in-office abortion procedure at FPA as long as you are less than 24.0 weeks pregnant.

Occasionally, only some of the pregnancy tissue will pass. If this happens, you could have heavy bleeding, develop an infection, or both. An in-office suction procedure (D&C), more medications, more tests or treatments could help to prevent these complications.

Sometimes, clots in the uterus can cause cramping and pain in the belly and/or lower back. If this happens, you may need a suction procedure (D&C) or more medication to help pass the clots.

If the medication abortion does not work, you will not be asked to make any extra payments to FPA. You must return to our office if you think that you are still pregnant or if our staff ask you to come back because we think you may still be pregnant. If you need to go to another clinic or hospital to complete the abortion for medical reasons or because you are more than 24 weeks pregnant, you will be responsible for the cost of that care. For this reason, we encourage you to come back to our office as soon as possible if you have any concerns that the medication may not have worked.

If you know that it will be hard or impossible for you to come back to our office, the medication abortion may not be the best choice for you.

You can exercise the day after you take the second medication at home. Strenuous exercise can sometimes increase the amount of bleeding and cramping that you experience. You should not exercise if you feel like you have not passed the pregnancy.

After you exercise, if your bleeding and/or cramping increases, stop exercising. If this happens, you should be less active and do not exercise again until your bleeding has been light for 24 hours.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. If at any point you fully soak a maxi-pad in one hour or less, you should call us right away. A 24-hour on-call service is available after hours in case of an emergency.

Since 2020 more than half of abortions provided in the Unites States are done with medication instead of surgery. Approximately 1.75 million people in the U.S. and millions more worldwide have chosen the Abortion Pill to end a pregnancy. It is effective approximately 92-98% of the time. How well the medication works can depend on how far along you are in the pregnancy.

less than 7 weeks — Works about 98 out of 100 times the medication is taken

7 weeks — Works about 97 out of 100 times the medication is taken

8 weeks — Works about 95 out of 100 times the medication is taken

9 weeks — Works about 97 – 99 out of 100 times the medication is taken with two doses of misoprostol

10 weeks — Works about 97 – 98 out of 100 times the medication is taken with two doses of misoprostol

11 weeks — Works about 95 out of 100 times the medication is taken with two to three doses of misoprostol

13 weeks or more — Works about 92 out of 100 times the medication is taken with two to three doses of misoprostol

In person follow-up visits are rarely needed, but can be very important.

3-4 days after you take the medication, we will ask you to think about your body’s response to the medications and do a self-assessment. This assessment is a set of four questions about your experience. If you answer ‘NO’ to any of these questions, it is very important for you to call us. You may have to return to the office to make sure that you are no longer pregnant. You know your body best, if you do not think the medication worked, call us so we can schedule you for a follow-up visit.

5 weeks later, you will take a pregnancy test at home. We will give you a test to take home with you when we give you your medications. If the test is negative, you will know the medication abortion worked, and you are no longer pregnant. If your pregnancy test is positive five weeks after the abortion, you may still be pregnant, your hormone levels may be falling slowly, or you may be pregnant again. Call us immediately if this happens so we can schedule you for an office visit and additional treatment if needed.

If the medication abortion does not work, you will not be asked to make any extra payments to FPA. If you go to another clinic or hospital for evaluation or to complete the abortion, you will be responsible for the cost of that care. For this reason, we encourage you to come back to our office as soon as possible if you have any concerns that the medication may not have worked.

If you know that it will be hard or impossible for you to come back to our office, the medication abortion may not be the best choice for you.