South Holland Abortion Procedure – Up to 23.3 Weeks
Have you delayed having an abortion because you were unsure of where to go for help or how to get started? Are you searching for a facility that offers a South Holland-area abortion procedure up to 23.3 weeks? Call Family Planning Associates Medical Group (FPA Chicago) and get the information and medical care that you need today. We are the only abortion clinic in the greater Chicago area that offers abortions up to 23.3 weeks. The D&E abortion, or second trimester abortion procedure near South Holland, IL is performed over the course of one to three days depending on the gestation of the pregnancy and is a very safe surgical procedure. Our board certified physicians and trained medical staff at Family Planning Associates Medical Group (FPA Chicago) will do everything we can to ensure that you are comfortable during the procedure, including administering sedation during the abortion procedure and providing pain medications after the procedure, if needed.
Second trimester abortions, provided between 14.0 and 23.3 weeks require a surgical procedure called a D&E, or dilation and evacuation. We will start by performing an ultrasound to determine exactly how far along you are in your pregnancy and then we will perform a few basic lab tests. Next, we will review your medical history and you will sign the consent forms for the abortion procedure. Additionally we will go over the pre- and post-operative instructions and answer any questions that you have. If you are between 14.0 and 15.6 weeks, we can often prepare you for the surgery by administering a medication, and you can then have your surgery the same day. Most often after 16.0 weeks cervical dilators, called laminaria will be placed in the cervix to gradually open the cervix overnight in preparation for the procedure. You will be provided pain medications for your comfort and antibiotics to help prevent infection while under the care of our licensed medical staff. Your care will be tailored to your specific needs and your personal medical history.
If you have dilators placed on the first day, your surgery will be scheduled for the following morning, unless a second day of dilation is needed. You will need to bring a reliable family member or friend to drive you home after your procedure, as you will not be able to drive after having sedation. On the day of your surgical abortion you will be in the facility between 4 and 6 hours, this includes recovery time. The surgery normally last 15 minutes or less and you will be asleep during the abortion procedure. The recovery period will normally be at least 1-3 hours so that we can monitor your bleeding, and provide you with discharge instructions, information and medications.
You will be provided a toll-free, 24-hour number that you can call with any questions or concerns after your abortion procedure near South Holland, Illinois. We also offer referrals for after care counseling, birth control and many other services if needed.
312-707-8988
659 W. Washington Blvd.
Chicago IL 60661
Fax (312) 707-9223
We accept most PPO / HMO Insurances.
312-707-8988
659 W. Washington Blvd.
Chicago IL 60661
Fax (312) 707-9223
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Call (312) 707-8988 today to schedule a same-day appointment for your South Holland area abortion procedure. We have a dedicated, professional phone staff who are available to answer your questions, provide directions, and schedule an appointment at your convenience. We offer online appointments on our full website and you can even tour our facilities and read more about our staff online at fpachicago.com.
Call (312) 707-8988 for more information on the abortion pill or surgical abortion or to schedule an appointment.
At FPA Chicago we provide same day appointments and Saturday appointments for Hammond area abortions, pills and many other services. We also have online appointments available—see our full website for more information on our organization and the services we provide.
You can even tour our facility online!
The abortion pill uses two medicines to cause a miscarriage and end a pregnancy. The medication abortion is a safe and effective way to end a pregnancy up to 13 weeks in the privacy of your home.
This is a non-invasive procedure that feels more natural for some people. You can be with a spouse, partner, family member or trusted friend, for support with the medical abortion, in the comfort of your own home. Patients who want a less invasive procedure prefer the medication abortion.
The first step involves an office visit, including an ultrasound, lab work and exam. Mifepristone ends the pregnancy. Pregnancies need a hormone called progesterone to grow and mifepristone stops your body from making this hormone.
Misoprostol helps your body pass the pregnancy and causes bleeding and strong cramping. 24-48 hours after your office visit you will take misoprostol, and you must stay home for 12-24 hours after taking this medication. During this time, you should rest until your bleeding and cramping is light.
A few 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 series of four questions about your experience. If you answer ‘NO’ to any of these questions, it is very important that you call us as soon as possible. You may need to return to the office to confirm that you are no longer pregnant.
Lastly, you will take a pregnancy test at home about five weeks later. We will give you a test to take home with you on your first visit in our office. 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, or you may have become pregnant again. Call us immediately if this happens so we can schedule you for an office visit and additional treatment if needed.
It is safe for most people to use the abortion pill. According to the Guttmacher Institute, medication abortion accounted for 63% of all US abortions in 2023.
You should not use medication to induce an abortion if you:
Some patients feel more comfortable ending a pregnancy using medications.
This is a non-invasive procedure that feels more natural for some people. You can take the medications in the privacy of your home, at your convenience. Some patients have shared that they chose this process so that they could be with a spouse, partner, family member or trusted friend, for support.
The abortion pill procedure takes more time than an in-office procedure. It is important that you have 2-3 days set aside for the entire process.
The medication is not predictable. You should be comfortable going into the process not knowing exactly how your body will respond to the medications.
We are happy to discuss all of your options with you, and answer any questions that you have, so you have all of the information you need to make the best choice for you.
When you arrive at the office you will:
The pain will be the worst after you take the second medication, the misoprostol, at home. Cramps similar to heavy period cramps are common, and for some people the cramping and pressure can be very severe.
We will give you pain medication to help reduce your discomfort.
If you want to feel less cramping, you can take one of the pain medications 30 minutes before taking the misoprostol. Take your pain medications on a regular schedule until your pain is gone or light. If you are not taking pain medication regularly, it will not help with your pain because it only works for 4-6 hours.
If you wait until you are in pain to take medications, you will be in pain longer, because the pain medication takes time to start working.
Do not use any aspirin medications like Bayer, Excedrin, BC, or Goody’s. These medications can cause heavier bleeding sometimes.
Milder cramps, like period cramps or less, may last for a few weeks after you pass the pregnancy.
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:
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.
Your bleeding will be heaviest after you take the misoprostol at home on the second day. Your bleeding will change throughout the abortion process.
Until the pregnancy passes, the bleeding will usually be heavier than your normal period. You may see blood clots and pregnancy tissue pass.
Once the pregnancy has passed, the bleeding will start to slow down. You may bleed or spot for 4 to 6 weeks after the abortion. The bleeding can stop and start again many times.
When your bleeding has been light for 24 hours, you can use a tampon instead of a pad.
You will take the first medication, mifepristone, in our office on ‘day one’ after having an exam, ultrasound, lab work and signing consents. You can go to work, school, or make other plans for the rest of that day. It is rare that you would start to bleed heavily or pass the pregnancy after taking the first medicine.
You should plan to be at home on ‘day two’ for at least 24 hours after taking the misoprostol (the second medication). Misoprostol helps your body pass the pregnancy by softening the cervix and causing the uterus to contract. You will have heavy bleeding, usually heavier than a period, and strong cramping. Because the bleeding and cramping is moderate to heavy for most women, you should not be at school or work while you are passing the pregnancy. In most cases you can return to work, school and your regular activities the next day.
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.
Local anesthesia is a cervical block (injection of numbing medication) performed before your surgery. While your cervix will be numbed, you will be awake during the procedure and it is normal to feel some strong cramping and discomfort.
Sedation is administered intravenously through an IV placed in your hand or arm in most cases. If you are sedated for your procedure, you will not feel or remember any pain or discomfort.
If you have chosen to have sedation, you will not feel or remember any pain during your procedure. After the procedure you may experience mild to moderate cramping, if needed we will give you pain medication.
If you have chosen to have local anesthesia with your procedure, we will numb your cervix but you will feel some cramping, pain and pressure from the uterus. Some patients describe the pain as minimal while some patients find the pain to be more severe. You will be offered pain medication, and in some cases we can provide you a medication to help you feel more relaxed.
Once you are discharged, in most cases ibuprofen (Motrin/Advil), naproxen (Aleve) or acetaminophen (Tylenol/Midol) will help with the cramping. If the cramping is not helped by these over the counter medications, you should call us immediately.
FPA is the only outpatient clinic that offers full sleep sedation with propofol, provided by a CRNA. You will be completely unaware for about 5-10 minutes with a first trimester abortion, or about 10-20 minutes with a second trimester abortion. The medications used for sedation work very quickly and wear off very quickly as well. Most patients are awake and alert within 5 minutes of their procedure.
The sedation that we offer is safe, effective and short-acting. You will be asleep for 5-20 minutes depending on the procedure. There is always some degree of risk with any surgery. Serious complications with sedation are very rare in our facilities. Complications may occur if a patient has ingested any food or liquid within 8 hours of surgery. Tell our staff if you have had prior complications with anesthesia or if you have had anything to eat or drink within 8 hours prior to your surgery, including gum and water.
In most cases, the patient experiences bleeding for up to 2 to 3 weeks after the abortion procedure. However, some patients do not experience any bleeding and other patients have spotting or bleeding off and on. If you have any questions about what is normal after your procedure, you can always call the office and speak with a medical staff member. A 24-hour on-call service is available after hours, in case of an emergency.
The first trimester abortion is a simple procedure performed by aspiration (suction). This procedure is referred to as a D&C (Dilation and Curettage). This procedure generally takes about 3 to 5 minutes.
If you are over 12 weeks pregnant, you will first have your cervix prepared and dilated with medication and/or sterile product made specifically for cervical dilation (laminaria dilators). This procedure is referred to as a D&E (Dilation and Extraction) and lasts 1 to 3 days. In some cases, a patient will require one or two consecutive days of dilation and will return for the procedure on the second or third day. The dilation procedure takes just a few minutes, and you will be in the clinic for a few hours on the day or days that your cervix is being dilated. In some cases, we can administer a medication on the morning of your procedure that will help to soften and dilate the cervix, this can eliminate the need for insertion of laminaria dilators and a multiple day preparation process.
Most of our patients return to work or school the day after their procedure. Please let our staff know if you need a confidential note to excuse you from work or school for the day of your procedure and any recovery time that may be needed. The admitting and medical staff will explain the DOs and DON’Ts after an in office abortion procedure.
Your support person will not be able to join you during the medical parts of the visit, including the exam rooms and recovery room. We must protect the privacy of all of our patients, and for that reason we cannot allow guest in these areas.
Currently, we are unable to accommodate guests in the clinic, including waiting areas. If you need your guest to translate for you or you are a minor, please let our staff know when you arrive at the clinic and we will accommodate to the best of our ability. This is not a decision we take lightly, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. At this time, we must put the safety and privacy of all of our staff and employees first.
When bleeding has been light for 24 hours, you may have intercourse, if you feel emotionally and physically ready. You are the best judge of your feelings.
You should use contraception when you are sexually active, if you wish to avoid pregnancy. You can become pregnant again right away after having an abortion.
Taking public transportation after an in-office abortion procedure is not recommended. You may take use a cab or ride-share service for transportation after the procedure.
When bleeding has been light for 24 hours, you may use a tampon.
In most cases, an in-office abortion procedure is nearly 100% effective. In less than 0.3% of cases, a pregnancy is not terminated on the first attempt. Such a failure is most common in pregnancies of less than six weeks’ duration. A very small percentage of patients who have an in-office abortion procedure will require a re-aspiration, or another aspiration of the uterus, if unusual bleeding occurs or if there is retained pregnancy tissue.
Most patients feel very ‘normal’ when they leave the office after having an abortion. You will probably be hungry and maybe a little more tired than normal. We recommend that you have a full meal and then take it easy for the rest of the day. It is normal to experience some mild to moderate cramping. If the cramping is not helped by over the counter medications such as Tylenol, Advil or Aleve we ask that you call our 24-hour emergency number. The bleeding is usually comparable to a normal period and some patients do not have any bleeding at all. If at any point you soak one full maxi-pad in an hour or less, you should call us immediately.
If you have had pregnancy symptoms such as nausea, fatigue or breast tenderness, these symptoms will start to go away within a few days of the procedure. If you still ‘feel pregnant’ after a few days, you should call us right away.
You may take a shower or tub bath after your procedure. Do not douche. When bleeding has been light for 24 hours, you may use a tampon. Avoid any products that contain aspirin or alcohol as they can promote heavier bleeding.
When sedation is provided, gag reflexes are temporarily suppressed. If food or liquid remain in the stomach, vomiting can occur, resulting in asphyxiation (choking). This can cause serious complications and in very rare cases death. Please inform our staff if you have had anything at all to eat or drink on the day of your procedure.
Yes. All of our doctors are licensed by the State of Illinois, are board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and specialize in pregnancy termination.
In most cases, an in-office abortion procedure is nearly 100% effective. In less than 0.3% of cases, a pregnancy is not terminated on the first attempt. Our physicians at FPA are very thorough and take multiple steps to ensure that the abortion procedure is complete. First, the physician will examine the pregnancy tissue after the procedure. Second, a post-operative ultrasound can be performed at the request of the physician to ensure that the uterus is empty.
In some cases, if you are very early in the pregnancy, we may draw blood on the day of your procedure for a Beta hCG pregnancy test, which measures the level of pregnancy hormones in your blood. We will then ask you to have another blood draw for a second Beta hCG test at FPA or a lab that is convenient for you, usually two days later. We can then compare the hormone levels and make sure that they are falling at the appropriate rate, to ensure that the procedure is successful.
Most often, you can go back to your regular activities the day after your procedure. Strenuous exercise can sometimes increase the amount of bleeding and cramping that you experience. If you notice an increase in your bleeding or cramping after exercising, you may want to decrease your activity for a few days. 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, after your procedure, you should call us right away.