Abortion procedure at 4 weeks

The length of a pregnancy is counted from the date of a person's last menstrual period. Therefore, the fourth week of pregnancy will be around the time a woman generally misses her period for the first time and starts to realize that she may be pregnant. In this very early stage of pregnancy, the resulting product is still referred to as an embryo. An embryo is the earliest stage of human development, before it becomes a fetus. The developing life is called an embryo until about eight weeks gestation, or eight weeks after fertilization.

In abortions — or terminations of pregnancy — that happen in the 4th week of pregnancy, two options are available. They are medical abortion, in which the pregnant person takes medication to end the pregnancy, or aspiration abortion, in which the pregnancy-related contents are mechanically removed from the uterus.

How does early abortion work?

Early abortion options usually include taking the abortion pill or having the pregnancy terminated using the aspiration abortion technique, which is succressful 99 percent of the time. If a woman decides to take the so-called abortion pill, she will actually use a dose of Mifepristone and Misoprostol. Some women may have nausea after taking this pill but some of them have no physical complaints at all. This kind of abortion can be performed at home or in a medical clinic.

In either case, a pregnant woman who chooses a medical termination of pregnancy needs to first swallow the abortion pill containing miferprisone. The process is then completed after some 6 to 72 hours later by taking the misoprostol pills. The abortion usually starts one to four hours later. Symptoms include fairly heavy vaginal bleeding and cramps that may last a couple of hours, and are usually comparable in intensity to a heavy period. The bleeding may contain clotted blood and a light spotting may continue for 1 or 2 weeks after the procedure. These pills are very effective and they work 98-99% of the time.

Aspiration abortion is another option for women seeking a 4th week abortion. It always takes place in a medical clinic and usually lasts no more than 10 minutes. During the procedure, the performing doctor places the instruments into the patient’s vagina to evacuate the embryo and end the pregnancy. This abortion is typically performed under local anesthesia, meaning that you will feel no pain. In some cases, general anesthesia may also be offered.

Women who opt for an aspiration abortion early in their pregnancy are required to have routine testing one to two weeks later to confirm that the uterus is empty and no infection is present. Should a woman have symptoms that may point to infection, such as fever, vomiting, or severe pain, she is advised to consult her treating doctor as soon as possible.

The aspiration abortion procedure is also associated with cramps of varying severity. Most women will also have light bleeding for up to seven days after the procedure. In rare cases, the bleeding may continue for a couple of weeks. The procedure is highly effective but if it fails, for some reason, it can be repeated. This procedure has an important advantage against medication abortion since it involves less bleeding.