Types Of Abortions You Should Know
Abortion is the termination of pregnancy before 180 days of gestation. There are three types of abortions: spontaneous, natural or induced. The termination of pregnancy, whether natural or induced, may be preceded by loss of blood through the vagina.
Types of abortions according to the reason for abortion
Spontaneous abortion
Miscarriage is one of the types of abortions in which the will does not intervene. Most take place during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. In addition, in many cases they do not require any type of medical or surgical intervention.
Some of the causes of miscarriage are chromosomal abnormalities and uterine artery abnormalities. Among the anatomical factors that can cause a miscarriage are fibroids and endometriosis.
On the other hand, smoking, the consumption of alcohol and drugs, as well as traumatic situations, increase the chances of suffering a miscarriage.
Induced abortion
Induced abortion is one of the types of abortions resulting from deliberate maneuvers with the intention of terminating the pregnancy.
- It is an extremely risky practice when it is not performed in a healthcare setting, after consulting a specialist.
- In contrast, “complications are rare when abortion is performed in a hospital or clinic run by a trained health professional,” as the MSD Manual indicates.
Therapeutic abortion
The termination of pregnancy is due to medical causes for the health of the mother or fetus. Allowed when there is danger of death or only risks of intermediate dangers such as risk pregnancy, psychological health, etc.
According to a report by two experts from Harvard University, “despite modern advances in medicine, there are still a significant number of situations in which a pregnant woman would die if she did not have access to an immediate and safe therapeutic abortion. ”.
According to the legal situation
Illegal abortion
Illegal abortion is considered when it is performed against any of the laws of the country where it is practiced. When abortion is prohibited by law, circumstances cause abortion to be performed under poor and dangerous conditions for health. For this reason, in countries where it is prohibited, maternal mortality and morbidity statistics are higher than those in countries where it is legal.
Legal abortion
Even the most progressive laws punish pregnant women and professionals who perform abortions outside the allowed time limits with fines or jail.
In almost all the countries of the world abortion is legal in some case, except in:
- The Vatican.
- The Savior.
- Malt.
- Nicaragua.
- Honduras.
- Dominican Republic.
The term system consists of allowing a number of weeks or days of gestation within which abortion is legal. In the case of Spain, the term is 14 weeks, with a reflection period of three days.
On the other hand, the system of assumptions consists of different reasons on which it is legal to abort. In Spain we have a mixed system. From 14 weeks to 22, the decriminalized causes are fetal pathology and serious risk to maternal health.
Types of abortion according to the induction method
1. Drug abortion
Pill abortion is performed until week 7. First, one more mifepristone tablets is administered. At 24 to 48 hours, misoprostol is administered to evacuate the gestational sac from the uterus. These drugs are only available in accredited hospitals and centers.
2. Instrumental abortion
Within this type of abortion, depending on the techniques used, we can classify them as:
- Abortion by dilation and aspiration or Kaman method : First, the cervix is progressively dilated. The content is then vacuumed. No cuts or incisions are made, nor is there surgery. Medical facilities, equipment and professionals are necessary. It is done up to week 17 and usually lasts between 5 and 10 minutes.
- Surgical. It is done through an operation with gynecologists or surgeons.
- Abortion by dilation and evacuation : it is a type of abortion that is used around 16-19 weeks. It involves a greater risk since the gestation is more advanced. It always requires general anesthesia or sedation, and it is a surgical intervention. The uterus is prepared to dilate and then evacuated with surgical instruments. The process takes between 10 and 30 minutes, but recovery at the center can take several hours.
- Curettage: consists of scraping the walls of the uterus, also used for other gynecological techniques and is only used on exceptional occasions as recommended by the WHO.
- Late drug abortion or induction abortion : mixes the drug method to dilate the uterus with the surgical method to remove the contents by evacuation. As it is performed in extreme cases after 19-20 weeks, it does entail certain risks. For this reason, it must be evaluated by the medical team and requires admission and general anesthesia. Sometimes the induction may need to be repeated.
Today, there is still a lot of controversy around the different types of abortion. However, the idea that the most suitable thing is to achieve the legalization of this is still prevailing, so that women do not practice it clandestinely and do not put their lives at risk.
