Patient's question:
My best friend is pregnant. She got pregnant after taking birth control pills, and she's afraid of birth defects, so she doesn't want to keep the baby. Yesterday, I accompanied her to the hospital for a thorough examination, and it's been over 7 weeks. She said she's planning to have a medication abortion. But I'm not quite sure if medication abortion is better than a surgical abortion? Is medication abortion not always effective in completely terminating the pregnancy?Doctor's answer:
After discovering pregnancy, if you do not want to continue, you can have an abortion. Abortion can be done through medication or a painless procedure. Medication-induced abortion is less painful and can generally be performed within the first six weeks of pregnancy. However, medication-induced abortion can easily lead to incomplete abortion. Different people may have different reactions to medication. If you decide to have a medication-induced abortion, it is important to carefully monitor your symptoms to see when the gestational sac can be expelled. Additionally, follow-up visits are necessary to check if the uterus has been cleared. If the gestational sac does not expel, a D&C (dilation and curettage) procedure may be required.