Key Points
- There is a misconception that incomplete abortions and miscarriages are the same. That’s not true!
- Seek immediate medical attention if you suspect a spontaneous abortion.
What is an incomplete abortion?
An incomplete abortion is a complication where by fetal tissue, placenta and blood remains inside the uterus after a miscarriage or terminating a pregnancy.
This situation usually happens within the first 20 weeks of conception and can cause serious complications and if medical attention is not sought immediately.
Signs of an incomplete abortion
Causes of incomplete abortion
Miscarriages are often mistakenly blamed on women, but it’s crucial to realize that most are caused by chromosomal abnormalities.
Factors that increase the risk might include:-
- A history of previous miscarriages.
- Undergoing unsafe abortion practices.
- Falling pregnant at the age of 35 yrs or above.
- Hormonal imbalances, bacterial infections or HIV.
- And both being underweight or overweight.
How are incomplete abortions treated?
They provide three different procedures for treating incomplete abortions:-
- Expectant Management:- Where patients wait for the miscarriage to occur naturally;
- Medical Treatment:- You will be given abortion pills Misoprostol to cause uterine contractions and complete the process.
- Dilatation and Curettage:- Here a surgical procedure will be done using a curette to remove the remaining contents from the uterus.
Should you require assistance, Carlton Women’s Clinic offers affordable medical evaluations and early treatment for inevitable abortions.
How to minimize incomplete abortions
In order to reduce miscarriage risks we advice to follow the measures below:-
- Always seek abortion services from certified abortion providers who perform necessary tests and ultrasounds.
- Incase you order medication online, verify availability of emergency walk-in clinics incase of emergencies.
How do you know an abortion was completed?
During termination especially if you used termination pills, women experience cramping followed by bleeding which indicates that the fetal contents have been expelled from the uterus. You might also:-
- Observe the expulsion of the embryonic material.
- You will also notice a decline in the pregnancy symptoms you were experiencing.
Frequently Asked Questions
If a pregnancy is terminated using abortion pills and there is no bleeding for more than an hour, or if less than three pads are heavily saturated with blood, it’s essential to immediately take another dose of abortion medication. This step is necessary to ensure the completion of the process.
Heavy Vaginal Bleeding: Moderate to severe vaginal bleeding is a common symptom of incomplete abortion as well as abortion that should not be ignored.
Pain and Discomfort: One can experience frequent lower abdomen or pelvic discomfort that spreads to the lower back, buttocks, genitalia, and perineum (skin patch between genitals and anus).
Blood Clot Discharge: The patient may spot blood clot discharge, a common symptom of incomplete abortion.
Fever and Chills: If the patient experiences persistent fever, chills and diarrhoea soon after the abortion, that may indicate incomplete abortion.
These The signs may start appearing a few days after an abortion and the severity of these symptoms can range from mild to moderate, or even severe.
An inevitable abortion is when you may use medically approved abortion pills to terminate a pregnancy and during the bleeding process some pregnancy tissue remains inside the uterus.
A miscarriage also know as a spontaneous abortion is where by vaginal bleeding occurs without the expulsion of conception products. In such instances, the pregnancy may still proceed as the fetus remains unharmed and alive, since the birth canal has not opened yet.
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