Northwest Chicago Women’s Health Clinic

The abortion pill procedure is extremely safe and effective. According to the Guttmacher Institute, first trimester abortion is one of the safest medical procedures, with a less than 0.5% rate of major complications.

The medication abortion is a completely noninvasive procedure, but all medical treatment comes with some risk, for that reason we ask you to contact us right away if:

• Have extremely heavy bleeding – hemorrhage is one risk with this procedure and in some rare cases, a surgical procedure is required to stop heavy uterine bleeding.
• Any signs of infection – Serious infection can occur in about 1 per 1,000 people who take this medication and death from infection occurs in less than 1 per 100,000 cases. If you develop flu-like symptoms including sluggishness, weakness or muscle aches with or without a fever, it is very important that you call us immediately. It is also important for you to call us if you have nausea, vomiting or diarrhea more than 24 hours after taking the misoprostol. We will give you antibiotics, to reduce the risk of infection. You can help prevent infection by taking your antibiotics as directed and by avoiding tampon use, sexual activity, douching, or placing anything in the vagina until your bleeding is lighter than your normal period.
• You have any signs of an allergic reaction such as a rash/swelling or if you have any other abnormal reactions to your medications.

FPA has a medical staff member on call 24 hours a day in case of an emergency. We can be reached at 312-707-8988

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

Misoprostol (or Cytotec) is a prostaglandin drug. It had previously received FDA approval for use in the prevention of ulcers in high-risk patients taking non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs.

You could have heavy bleeding and cramping and pass clots after taking the abortion pill but still be pregnant. Sometimes the pregnancy will keep growing after you take the abortion pill. Sometimes the pregnancy will end but not pass out of the body. If you do not have any bleeding within 24 hours of taking misoprostol at home, please call us. 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 in our office.

3-4 days later, 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.

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.

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.