Self-Managed Abortion: How Does an Abortion with Pills Work? | Episode 3

In Episode 3 of our series on safe abortion, learn how an abortion with pills works and how you can safely self-manage a medical abortion at home. This video is part of an eight-chapter instructional series co-produced by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and HowToUseAbortionPill.org. The intention behind these videos is to help ensure that abortion with pills is conducted in a safe, accessible, secure, and respectful manner. In these videos, we'll be taking you through a helpful guide on what to expect before, during and after an abortion with pills.

To get free access to safe abortion information, click here - https://www.howtouseabortionpill.org

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Read more about how to ensure a safe abortion with pills from MSF at https://bit.ly/30XJVnC

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MSF hereby disclaims any and all liability to any party for any direct, indirect, implied, punitive, special, incidental or other consequential damages arising directly or indirectly from any use of the materials shared, which is provided as is, and without warranties.

Video transcript:
Lesson 3: How does an abortion with pills work?
An abortion with pills, also known as a medical or medication abortion, is a safe and common method of abortion. Millions of women all over the world safely and successfully use pills to end pregnancies every year. Many people prefer an abortion with pills because it can be done privately within the comfort of their home, is non-invasive, can feel more natural, and is similar to a spontaneous miscarriage.

There are two types of medications used for abortion: mifepristone and misoprostol. An abortion with pills works better if both of these medications are taken together. However, if mifepristone is not available, misoprostol alone will also work to end a pregnancy and is still safe. We will review both options in this video series.

Mifepristone and misoprostol cause the opening of the uterus to relax and the walls of the uterus to contract. This results in bleeding and cramping, which pushes the pregnancy out of the body, just like a miscarriage. Most women experience bleeding and cramping that’s similar to a heavy menstrual period and lasts several hours.

Some women go to see a medical provider, like a doctor or midwife, to get information about an abortion with pills and obtain the necessary medications. Then they go home to take the pills and manage the process themselves. Some women may decide to get information and pills in other ways. So long as the proper instructions are followed and quality medications are used, an abortion with pills will work to end a pregnancy almost every time.

Severe complications are extremely rare. An abortion with pills is so safe that most women successfully manage the process at home without any problems.

Almost everyone can have an abortion with pills – including young women, older women, women with and without children, women who have had an abortion before, women who are pregnant with twins, women who have had Caesarean deliveries, and women who are breastfeeding. Regardless of your age or weight, the dose stays the same and the pills will work equally well.

There are very few contraindications and they are very rare. If you know you have an ectopic pregnancy, which is a rare condition where the pregnancy is outside the uterus, abortion pills will not work to end the pregnancy, so you need to see a health care worker. If you have been told you have a medical condition called porphyria or problems with your adrenal glands, which are both very rare conditions, you should not do an abortion with pills. If you have an IUD in place, it should be removed before using abortion pills.

Many countries have laws surrounding the availability of abortion and the use of abortion pills. To learn more about the abortion laws in your setting, see HowToUseAbortionPill.Org.

In our 2 next videos, we will explain how to take both mifepristone and misoprostol or misoprostol alone to have an abortion before 13 weeks. Abortions 13 weeks and beyond require a different approach.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières helps people worldwide where the need is greatest, delivering emergency medical aid to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from health care. Learn more at https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org