What is abortion?
Abortion is the removal of a fetus from a pregnant woman in the immature stages.
It can be medicinal or surgical. By taking proper medicine with the consultation of a doctor one can go for an abortion or it can be done through surgical means. Abortion is legal for up to twenty-four weeks of pregnancy in India.
Sometimes abortion is confused with miscarriage. Both are different, as abortion is the termination of pregnancy willingly but miscarriage is the unplanned termination of pregnancy.
By what means abortion can be performed?
Abortion can be performed in two ways either through medicines or through surgery, but the type of abortion needed depends on the time duration of pregnancy.
Medical abortion
In this, medicine is taken by the pregnant woman under the prescription of the doctor to end the pregnancy. Medicines can either be swallowed or chewed as recommended by a doctor. It is an easy method to terminate pregnancy but it can result in many complications such as excessive bleeding, more cramping, and nausea, and sometimes it can affect so severely that one needs to take surgery to clean the uterus due to heavy bleeding. It can be done in the earliest phases of pregnancy.
Surgical abortion
In this, surgery is performed on a pregnant woman to terminate the pregnancy. In this, gentle suction is performed by using a sucking tube (speculum) which cleans the uterus and ends a pregnancy. It is also called suction evacuation.
Some methods of surgical abortion based on the duration of pregnancy:
Vacuum aspiration
In this type of surgical abortion, anesthesia is given to the woman on whom surgery is being performed to make that area numb, then a speculum is inserted into the vagina and a thin tube is inserted into the uterus to open the cervix, then suction is performed to clean the uterus. It is majorly recommended by doctors in the first trimester.
Dilation and evacuation
In this type of surgical abortion, anesthesia is given to the patient so that she doesn't feel any pain while the procedure is being performed. Firstly, a speculum is inserted into the vagina, then the thin tube is inserted to open the cervix, and then pregnancy tissues are removed and finally, suction is performed to clean the uterus so that pregnancy is terminated. It is preferred in the second trimester.
Labor induction
In this type of surgical abortion, medications are given to the patient to start labor. Medications can either be taken by mouth or are injected by the doctor into the vagina. These medications help to clean the uterus within 12-24 hours of time duration. It is performed in the third trimester.
Check-ups are done to check if abortion is suitable for the patient:
Sonography
Sonography is done to check the time duration of pregnancy or where the pregnancy is so that the doctor gets to know what kind of abortion can be performed on that patient and which is best suitable option for her.
Health and Fitness level
Haemoglobin is tested to check whether she has enough amount of hemoglobin in her body or not.
The sugar level is checked.
Infections can be checked if there are any to prevent the safety of the patient.
Once a woman is tested for all these and doctors see that she is fit for the abortion then they proceed further.
Things to keep in mind before abortion:
- Always have a person with you while coming for surgery who can take care of you in every situation and take responsibility.
- You need to spend 5-6 hours in the hospital, so you need to take leave from your work to prevent any disorder.
- Discuss properly all the financial details regarding the abortion procedure to avoid any issues after treatment.
- One should remain empty stomach for at least 6 hours before the procedure and even avoid taking water.
Pros of abortion
If any woman is not comfortable having a child then she gets depressed by thinking that she is not able to get the responsibility of that child, how she manages all the things or she doesn't want a child at an early age, it affects her mental health, so she thinks abortion is a better option for her and it helped to improve mental health.
Some women are physically too weak to give birth to a child or there are sometimes complications in their pregnancy so abortion helps in improving the physical health of women.
As we know India is the second largest populated country in the world 🌍, and hence poverty is increasing day by day abortion can help in reducing poverty but it doesn't mean that to reduce poverty one needs to get an abortion, no, it's ones choice not a forceful act.
Cons of abortion
Too many abortions can result in many diseases.
It affects a woman's health as she gets weaker after surgery and if does not get proper care and treatment then it increases the risk of health issues and side effects.
abortion can be expensive for those who can't even afford meals for themselves or do not have enough income to spend apart from their living.
many women face issues with access to abortion as they are either from rural areas or they have so much amount of work that they can't get a leave from their work for it.
Not supported by family members in the decision of abortion as they (especially other women) think that she also has given birth to a child but does not have any problem, she is just an irresponsible lady so she wants to abort her child and say how shameful she is.
late decisions to abortion can cause many issues in the woman's body which even results in death.
Majorly and most importantly the woman decides to get an abortion or not, she has the right to her body so it's her decision whether is she capable enough to keep a child at this point or does she needs time.
A safe and healthy abortion of a woman's choice is the right of women.
A Dynamiclady ~ Anshika Rajput
contact - anshika@dynamiclady.in