What all goes on when you have an abortion?

Question

A friend of mine is going to get an abortion tomorrow and she wants me to go with her as support. I was just wondering what all to expect when I go with her tomorrow. What do they do? Please don't bad mouth my friend, if you come to this question to bad mouth her I will report you. I am pro-choice. I feel that it's a woman's choice to do what she wants wit her body. Me personally couldn't never go through with it but if a woman wants to then it is her body and she can do it if she wants!

Answer 1

I am pro-choice as well but I am against elective termination as a form of birth control. What is going to take place is one of the hardest decisions a woman is faced with. I know. If she is under 12 wks, it will be very simple. She goes in, they will check her vitals, b/p, heart, that stuff prior to starting the procedure. They will check her on ultrasound to locate the embryo, then take her into the surgical suite where they will start her iv, and she'll drift off very quickly. The whole thing takes about 8-14 minutes and she will wake up in a recovery area with other pts who are there for the same thing, if she is at a clinic. They will check her for bleeding. She needs to have some bleeding, nothing major but like a heavy period.... they will give her a shot in her iv of something for pain, usually demerol.......check her vitals again and make sure she has a ride, and give her and who is with her recovery papers/warning signs, and off she'll be. Probably hungry, and thirsty but nothing heavy right after......she'll cramp and be groggy for a while and sleep it off, and hopefully that will be the only time she has to make that choice.

Answer 2

If it's early enough, they will use a little suction-thingie to suck out the contents of the uterus. They give some medication to use the night before that softens the cervix, then they dilate the cervix using a speculum (I think) the next day. Sometimes they put the person under, sometimes they just use a local anasthetic (they inject it into the cervix with a needle) - it depends on how much they need to dilate the cervix. Then they insert this little suction/scraper thing and move it around in the uterus. That part can be a little painful if no anesthetic is being used, or even if just the local anasthetic is being used. It doesn't last very long, though, just 5 minutes or so. Then they give the person some time to recover, just sit back and relax for a while. When the person feels up to walking, they let her go home. There will be bleeding afterward, just like a period. Sometimes they let a friend stay for the entire procedure, sometimes they don't. Hopefully she will be able to have someone supportive like you with her the entire time.

Sorry to hear that your friend has to go through with this. I hope she is okay afterwards.

Answer 3

Words of Wisdom.


This page is a collection of stories and advice submitted from different women who have had an abortion. Some women are prolife, some are prochoice, some had a positive experience with abortion, some had a negative one. The point of this page is not to push any particular view of abortion, but simply to allow a place for women to share their thoughts on this, and to give their personal feelings about unplanned pregnancies. If you are pregnant, and trying to decide what to do, remember that no one here is a 'licensed professional counselor', and no one else can really decide what is best for your life except YOU! So browse what has been submitted, and read what other women have to say, but only use this as information for you to consider. A decision about what to do with a pregnancy is difficult, and the results of such decisions are irreversible, whether it's keeping the baby, giving it up for adoption or choosing an abortion. Don't make any decisions about your pregnancy without meeting with a professional counselor, and thinking hard about how the decision you make will affect your life.

BestAdvice: My advice is mainly don't blindly take the guy's word for it if he claims to have a vasectomy. Ask detailed questions BEFORE sex takes place and still use other protection of your own. "Randy" claimed he had a vasectomy and kept insisting he didn't need condoms but I still got pregnant anyway. What's worse is that it's an ectopic pregnancy and though it's being treated by chemical means, it still remains to be seen if I can still have other children after this. (At my age, probably not likely.)

BestAdvice: I have now had 2 abortions. I was okay after my first, I was young, poor, man-less, everything. My most recent one was exactly that, recent. I was going to keep the baby, only because I could not go through this again, but I gave into pressure and did it. I saw my baby's heartbeat 2 days before my surgery (if you are going to have an abortion, please don't get an ultrasound and see this, you will not get it out of your head), I kept both of my sonogram pictures, another bad idea. I would never tell someone NOT to have an abortion, every situation is different. I am 30 years old and at a time in my life where my maternal hormones are flowing. For some reason, I felt such a strong bond with my unborn child. I sang songs to him, I touched him when I was sad... I told him of all the things we would do together. I bought a house with an extra room for a nursery. But your hormones are just so crazy when you are pregnant, one wrong thing that someone says, and boom, it's over. It was Thursday night and everyone was hounding me about not having a father, losing this and that, yadda yadda... so I gave in and the very next morning, I experienced the worst day of my life. I almost walked out 4 times and now I wish I had. More than anything, I wish I had. I am also going through some medical problems resulting from the surgery which makes it worse. Today, I was at the hospital having some tests run. In the waiting room, there was a woman with her 6 day old baby, my ab was 6 days ago. I sat and stared at them and cried like a baby, I lost control badly. My best advice, if you have ANY doubts, please talk to counselors, not friends or family... talk to people that do not know you. If you have doubts at all, you will feel guilt... you need to decide if you can live with it. I can't. Simple as that... my life is FOREVER changed because of a decision I made. I can't take it back, it is permanent... so is motherhood. I don't wish this decision on anyone, but know that medically, after an abortion, there is a REAL possibility that you will experience post partum depression, I dont' handle depression well, so I am not dealing well with this at all. Whatever you do, make the decision for YOU, nobody else, YOU and YOU alone... what is best for YOU, do NOT let anyone make your mind up for you. You will be the one that lives with your decision either way, everyone else will go on, but will you?

BestAdvice: a big here here to the fact that no one can prepare you for your hearts pain. bodily pain will go. here's my truth: accept that instead of 'carrying' this child for nine months, you will now 'carry' this child forever. it will live in your heart till your last breath. you will always wonder and never know. yes intensities of emotions will fade. never can we know the satisfaction of their smiles or the joys of their hearts. which is the heavier price? knowing them or always wondering? may you walk your path with eyes wide open, heart soft, and mind alert. ~namaste~
Neo.

Answer 4

First I would like to say I am so upset by the way the others have handled this question. I had to quit reading the posts, but I couldnt keep from posting. This is what they do.
You will get called back and asked to slip into a gown like the hospitals have. They take you into a room and give you a vaginal ultrasound. (They stick a wand type instrament into your vagina to see how far along you actually are) They will have you go to see a councelor next. She will ask you WHY you feel this is the way that you want to handle it. From there, they take you into a room and give you a drug that basically calms you down. You then go into a room much like one at an OB GYNs office. They use a vaccum to pull the baby away from the uteran wall. It feels like cramps.. a few sharp pains and some aches after it is done. They will make you lay there a few min. You are moved to a recovery room and given some OJ and crackers to eat. You will get dressed, and make a follow up appt so that they can examine you and make sure that it was a successful abortion. Please dont listen to the people on this board. It is a hard decision. VERY hard. Be there for your friend. God Bless you both.

Answer 5

well, it depends on what kind and how far a long she is. If she is not very far along, they will just insert a hose like thing and suck the baby out. They will preform a D&C which will scrape the lining of her uterus, to make sure everything is gone. If she is further than 4 months, they will induce labor and she will deliver only the baby's head, then the doctor will insert a scalpel into the baby's spinal cord which will cause it do die immediatly. Both are not comfortable, and both come with several health issues, not to mention mental issues. I am pro-life however. You could always suggest adoption to your friend, but most of the time, when someone has their mind made up, all you can do is support her. Good Luck.

Answer 6

I amprolife, but I respect that other people are not. A friend of mine recently had an abortion. You go into a room with a **** ton of women and wait. Then, if it's an early abortion they just turn on a vacuum looking deal and it is very quick. They say as soon as it starts to hurt it's over. If it is later in the pregancy she will have to give birth. THey will stick a needle in the baby and this will kill it. Then she will have to have the baby removed from her vagina.

Answer 7

Your friend's body is not the only body involved here, you know. Her baby's heart started beating just three weeks after conception. Here are some photos and video of early abortions:

http://www.cbrinfo.org/Resources/pictures.html
http://www.abort73.com/HTML/I-A-4-video.html

and descriptions of abortion procedures:

http://abort73.com/HTML/I-A-3-techniques.html

If you drive your friend to an abortion facility, you are also driving her child to execution. Are you really the type of person who wants to play a part in that? If your friend was holding a gun to the head of a three-year-old and threatening to pull the trigger, would you "support" her, even if you personally wouldn't shoot a three-year-old? There is no difference, except the child is the womb is even more vulnerable, defenseless, and innocent than a toddler.

Answer 8

she will remember this day the rest of her life as i do. dec 21. my baby would now be 18 years old. it was not a fun experience. they do it quick... i was under anesthesia and tried to scream for them to stop but no words came out of my mouth even tho i was screaming inside. thye have you change. wait for the room as it is somewhat like an assemblyline atmosphere. take you in and get onto table. no different than getting a pap smear really. and then you are done. they place you in recovery room with maybe 10-12 other women and make sure you are stable with no severe bleeding etc. and then they will release you. best to have soft foods at home soups/puddings etc... comfort type foods because you feel quite miserable physically (cramping) and emotionally. Having an abortion is difficult on your mind. In fact, she is doing same day as I did. In hindsite I wish I had not had one as it has been on my conscience all of my life.

Answer 9

I have had one.. When you get there they will have forms to fill out. Draw blood. She will talk to a counselor. You may have to wait there for awhile.. Depending on how busy they are.. But when she goes back for her procedure she will be in a room kinda like when you go in for a yearly pap. Everything is the same until the actual procedure. Depending on blood type she maybe just giving an ibuprofen for pain. That's all I was giving. I was never knock out or had an IV. They will use an ultra sound machine and a vacuum like machine. She will feel mild to moderate discomfort/cramping. It does not last that long at all. After wards she will go to a recovery room and they will check her blood pressure and bleeding.. After awhile she will be allowed to leave.

You are a very good friend to go... Tell your friend good luck and its her choice..

Answer 10

Everyone has there own views and choices..I happen to agree with you..Its her choice(your friends) but i could never do it..I just don't think its right to take a life..But as you said its her choice..
If shes early enough,they will give her a seditive of some sort, they will dilate her cervix, and suction the baby out..The whole procedure takes about 15 mins...
your a better friend than i would be, I don't think i could handle something like that..I wish you good luck for being there for her..I am sure she will appreciate your support..