Taking charge of your health by making informed decisions is critical to safeguarding your well-being. If you’re dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, it’s crucial to understand all your options.
One option is a medical abortion, which ends a pregnancy and typically involves some level of bleeding. But how can you tell if the bleeding is too heavy?
Keep reading to discover more about this common side effect and when it’s important to seek medical attention. You can also schedule a free and confidential appointment at Ventura County Pregnancy Center to explore your pregnancy options and receive personalized support.
What Happens During a Medical Abortion?
A medical abortion is the process of using drugs to end a pregnancy. Also known as the “abortion pill,” this procedure is FDA-approved through 10 weeks gestation (how far along you are).
A medical abortion uses two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone and is followed up with misoprostol to cause uterine contractions and expel a pregnancy.
The drugs used in a medical abortion cause cramping in the stomach area. Another significant side-effect is vaginal bleeding, which is why it’s crucial to determine how much bleeding is too much.
How Much Bleeding is Too Much?
Heavy bleeding occurs several hours after taking the misoprostol, and you may have period-like bleeding for several days afterward. You may have light to moderate bleeding for several weeks.
Your healthcare professional should let you know how much pain and bleeding to expect, but heavy bleeding to worry about can be defined as soaking two or more pads an hour for two hours in a row.
Other warning signs to notice include:
- Bad pain in the stomach area or pelvis.
- Chills or body aches.
- Fast heart rate.
- Fever that lasts more than four hours or that starts in the days after you take misoprostol.
- Foul-smelling vaginal discharge.
If you’re experiencing heavy bleeding or any of these other signs, don’t wait and seek medical care immediately.
Get Informed
Heavy bleeding is only one of the possible risks of a medical abortion. To get fully informed about abortion and its risks, visit us at Ventura County Pregnancy Center.
We’re here to give you detailed information about abortion and your other options during an unplanned pregnancy.
You can take advantage of our free pregnancy services to get key information about your pregnancy that will unlock your options moving forward.
Contact us to make a confidential appointment today.
All abortion information sourced in this blog is based on accurate information at the time of writing.