QuestionQUESTION: I had a medical abortion with mifeprex on March 31, 2010 at a clinic, where I was told I was 8 weeks and 4 days along. I took the 4 misoprostol pills 24 hours later and had normal period bleed with about 3 clots for about 4-5 days. I was not able to make it to my follow up for personal reasons, and the clinic opened a new office so no one can help me there for another week. I was on birth control, but forgot that it isn't very effective until after a month. I have had sex since the procedure. I took a pregnancy test May 5, 2010 that came back positive. Could this still be hormones or is it possible it didn't work? Or is this a whole new pregnancy? Thanks for your help.
ANSWER: Hello, Melissa,
I have some questions. Was it 8 weeks and 4 days from your last menstrual period, or from the time of conception? How did they determine how far along you were? Have you had any other symptoms of pregnancy since you took the pills? Or is the only indication you might be pregnant this new pregnancy test? When did you have sex? I'm wondering because there is a good chance you weren't fertile yet after the pregnancy, regardless of whether you were taking birth control or not.
Your uncertainty about what happened to that pregnancy is telling. By now, you should be well aware of whether the pills ended that pregnancy or not. You should have other symptoms, such as tender breasts. Unless you are overweight, you would be beginning to show.
I sure wouldn't go back to that clinic anyway! It is possible you may not even have been pregnant, or you didn't have a baby, just a sac or some other unusual thing. Also, there's a chance they lied to you about how far along you were. I wouldn't put it past any such clinic to lie to you so they can get your money. It is known that some will do an abortion on a woman who isn't pregnant. If they didn't determine that you were actually carrying a baby, they certainly were negligent. 1/4 of all pregnancies end with miscarriage anyway.
Often, a pill abortion doesn't even work this late. They should have told you that. A pill abortion doesn't tend to work past 7 weeks, and even at that point, they don't always work. But unless you had some other kinds of symptoms since then, I would tend to rule out that the pregnancy test you took yesterday showed the original pregnancy.
Birth control pills often fail. They can fail unless they are used properly, and you have already indicated you forgot about waiting a month for them to be effective. And they can fail if a woman is taking an antibiotic, or certain other medications. If you don't want a baby right now and you're not married, the only truly reliable way to prevent pregnancy is not to have sex. You don't deserve to be undergoing this kind of medical risk just so your partner can enjoy your body. You may also enjoy sex, but you should ask yourself if it's worth the dangers and the worry.
What I would recommend is that you find an organization in your area that helps pregnant women. There are thousands of these, all over the United States. They can do a free pregnancy test, provide other free services such as an examination, and some of them are equipped to do a free ultrasound. Tell them what has happened, and ask them to recommend a doctor. Let him examine and test you, so you can find out what is going on. You can find an organization near you by going to this web site:
http://www.pregnancycenters.org/
Abortion is dangerous and can kill you or cause serious medical problems. It can also cause your future children to develop birth defects, or even make it impossible for you to have a child. Please don't even consider having another abortion or taking any more dangerous pills.
Please let me know what you find out. Please take care, and stay safe!
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QUESTION: They did an unltrasound to determine how far along I was. They didn't let me see though. It was at a planned parenthood clinic. They told me about possibly having to do a surgical abortion if it didn't take, and that was one of the reasons I was afraid to go back. I've had mild to severe nauseau throughout all of this and breast tenderness that went away but is now back and the nausea has started to get better the last couple weeks. I am just really afraid and unsure and without isurance it's hard to find an affordable place to get an ultrasound.
AnswerHello, Melissa,
Oh brother! Planned Parenthood is one of the WORST. They'll do anything. They disobey the law deliberately in many countries, help men exploit minors, lie about everything under the sun, have filthy facilities in many places that wouldn't pass basic health inspections, target minorities for extermination, treat women like cattle, the list just goes on and on. They've been caught red-handed doing horrible things so many times it's not funny. You were wise not to go back. Your instincts were good about that. Not letting women see the ultrasound is standard practice. They know that if a woman sees the ultrasound, she probably won't go through with the abortion, and they'll lose a sale. They also twist their counseling to make all other alternatives seem impossible. It's all about selling abortions.
They should never have offered you a pill abortion in the first place, because of the risk it would fail. Heck, even practicing abortionists I know won't recommend pill abortions for that reason. Planned Parenthood doesn't care. If it fails, they are paid twice. It's a huge racket.
As for an ultrasound, as I mentioned, many of these organizations offer free ultrasounds. Not all of them have the equipment yet. But you can probably talk to your closest organization and see if they do, and if not, ask them to refer you to the closest organization that does have the equipment.
Good luck! Please stay in touch. If you still have difficulty finding an organization that can offer you a free ultrasound, let me know.
