The most commonly used medication for abortion is MEFIPRISTONE (MIFEGIN, RU486). This drug interferes with the action on the uterus of the main hormone of pregnancy - progesterone, thereby contributing to its interruption. Usually, MEFIPRISTONE is used against the background of small doses of drugs that increase uterine contractions and rejection of the fetal egg from the body - prostaglandins.
Medical abortion is performed at gestational ages up to 8 weeks and in cases of uncomplicated course does not require surgical intervention and anesthesia. Before medical abortion, a woman undergoes an ultrasound examination. Further, after signing the informed consent, the pregnant woman, in the presence of a doctor, takes 3 tablets of the drug, after which she can leave the clinic. Usually, after 1-2 days, bleeding begins, similar to menstrual bleeding and indicating an abortion and rejection of the fetal egg. After a medical abortion, it is recommended to conduct a second ultrasound to make sure that there are no remnants of the ovum in the uterine cavity, which can become infected, cause severe bleeding and other post-abortion complications.
If there are alarming complaints (sharp pain, fever, chills, very severe bleeding with severe weakness, dizziness, malaise, etc.), you should immediately consult a doctor or call an ambulance. In such cases, surgical intervention is often required - curettage of the uterine cavity, i.e. in fact, carrying out a routine abortion. As with other medicinal methods, there are a number of contraindications to medical abortion:
• Ectopic pregnancy - it requires only surgical treatment.
• Chronic adrenal insufficiency and severe bronchial asthma, since MEFIPRISTONE disrupts the action of adrenal hormones, which are also used to treat asthma.
• Infectious and inflammatory processes of the genital tract (to avoid the spread of infection).
• Hemorrhagic disorders (blood clotting disorders) - due to the possibility of heavy bleeding. Termination of pregnancy in such cases should be carried out only in a clinical setting under constant medical supervision and monitoring of blood coagulation.
In 2% of cases, medical abortion is ineffective - the drug does not cause an abortive effect and the pregnancy is not interrupted.