Abortion Pill Clinic of Huntington Beach
Our clinic provides the medical pill for pregnancy termination. The abortion pill (also called Mifeprex or ru-486) has allowed the convenience of avoiding surgery. Even though it has risks, in some ways it is safer than surgery because it avoids an invasive procedure. The following gives some general information on what is entailed with obtaining the service at our clinic. If you have more questions or want to schedule an appointment, contact us at 714-966-9094
If taken early enough in the pregnancy, the mifeprex can be very effective. Depending on the gestation of the pregnancy, mifeprex is between 90-95% effective. This means that in about 90-95% of the time, this medicine works by itself without the need for surgical intervention. It also means that even though it is quite effective, it does not always work as well as the D and C, which is about 98% effective.
After arriving at our clinic, you will meet our doctor and have an ultrasound performed to check the age of the pregnancy. This is important since the ru486 works only up to 9 weeks maximum. Therefore, if you are over 9 weeks, the best course would be the D and C and not the medication. Your medical history will be taken to ensure you are a candidate for the ru-486. Our physician will then explain the pros and cons of the mifeprex and the D and C procedure, and answer any questions. Your blood will be drawn to check for blood type, and if type negative, an injection called Rhogam will be administered.
The process involves taking two different tablets. The first is called mifeprex (also know as mifepristone or RU-486). This is a single tablet that is swallowed, administered at the clinic. This is the main ingredient of the protocol. Mifeprex blocks the pregnancy hormone, thereby causing termination of the pregnancy. Even though it causes the gestation to cease growing, by itself it is usually not enough to cause it to expel.
The expulsion is carried out by another medication called cytotec. The cytotec is taken about 24 hours later, in the privacy of your home. There are different ways to take this medicine. These include the vaginal route, orally by swallowing, or buccal (between the gum and cheeks). All are effective, but we find that the buccal route to be the most convenient.
Cytotec causes the uterus to cramp and contract. This causes the sac to come out, the same as during a spontaneous miscarriage. Within a few hours of taking this second medicine, they will cause bleeding, cramping, and the passage of pregnancy tissue.
After taking those medicines, heavy bleeding and cramping for a few hours is to be expected. Ibuprofen may be taken to ease the cramps. Sometimes, if the conceptus is very early, the amount of bleeding may be very light. The bleeding usually lightens up after a few hours, but still continues on and off for a few weeks.
A prescription will be given to you for antibiotics. One of the risks is infection. This is extremely rare, but in order to make it even rarer, we recommend taking antibiotics. If you notice excessive pelvic pain, foul smelling discharge, or a fever, you need to contact us as these may be signs of infection.
In about 2 weeks you must return to our clinic for follow up. This visit is to ensure that everything went as planned and that it worked as expected. Remember, it is not always effective. If it failed, then there is need to perform a dilation and curettage. Simply having cramping and bleeding is not a guarantee that the termination worked. Therefore, the return visit is very important. The cost of the return appointment as well as a possible procedure is included with the initial fee.
The biggest disadvantage of the ru-486 is that it is unpredictable in its effectiveness. It may not work at all, or work incompletely and cause heavy bleeding.On the other hand, the ru-486 has some advantages as well.
Although it offers a higher convenience for the patient, it also offers certain risks. The decision of whether to use medical versus surgical is one that needs to be individually reviewed by the patient and physician. There is no method of termination that is best for every person.
Our providers are skilled at pregnancy termination either by D and C or pill. Consulting with our doctor will help you decide which is best for you.
We are a community women’s clinic and abortion center that provides low cost, affordable reproductive health care for the women of Southern California, located in Santa Ana, and Orange County.