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Abortions up
to 13 Weeks
WomanCare is a “first trimester” abortion
clinic, which means that we can perform abortions
as late as 13 weeks of pregnancy. When a potential
client calls WomanCare on the telephone, the clinic
nurse or attendant will attempt to estimate the
patient’s length of pregnancy based on several
factors, such as the first day of her last menstrual
period, when her pregnancy symptoms began, or
when she thinks she had sex. It is important to
understand that pregnancy is measured not from
conception or the time of a sexual encounter,
but from the first day of the previous menstrual
period, which is when the egg that will be released
that month begins to develop.
At the time of the appointment, the doctor will
perform a pelvic examination which determines
the size and position of the uterus. He will then
perform an ultrasound examination, which will
accurately determine how far the pregnancy has
progressed. As long as the pregnancy is 13 weeks
or less, the procedure can be performed.
WomanCare’s physician will not perform an
abortion that is less than about five weeks. These
procedures are difficult, there is a greater chance
of damaging the uterus and cervix, and it is impossible
to tell after the procedure whether the pregnancy
has been removed because it is too small to identify.
Surgical Abortion
WomanCare offers two types of abortions:
surgical and medical.
In a surgical abortion, the patient lies on an
exam table, the physician anesthetizes the cervix
and lower uterus, dilates (opens) the cervix,
inserts a soft plastic tube into the uterus, and
suctions out the pregnancy material. In most cases,
the suction lasts 90-120 seconds. Patients may
feel a small amount of discomfort while the cervix
is being anesthetized (numbed), and there may
be a slight amount of cramping during the suction
process.
Once the procedure has been completed, the nurse
escorts the patient to the Recovery Room where
she is able to relax in a recliner and sip some
tea. Most patients are dressed and ready to leave
within a half-hour of arriving in Recovery. Many
tell us “This was not nearly as bad as I
had feared” as they leave. |
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