Trying to determine if abortion is the right choice for you can feel scary and overwhelming, especially when you don’t know what to expect from the side effects, pain, or risk. Before coming to a decision, many women want to know, “Do abortions hurt?” The answer to this question isn’t straightforward, but we’re here to help you understand what you can expect during and after an abortion. We’ll also explain the potential risks and complications you should consider before you decide.
Medical vs. Surgical Abortions
Before we can answer the question of whether abortions hurt, we must first define the types of abortions. Generally, you will hear all abortions referred to as one of two categories: medical abortions and surgical abortions.
Surgical abortions are any abortion that requires a physical procedure to remove the pregnancy. There are several different methods for surgical abortions, including suction abortion for early pregnancies and dilation and evacuation (D&E) for pregnancies that are further along.
Medical abortions are also referred to as the abortion pill and work by taking two separate medications to end a pregnancy. Mifepristone, the first pill, is what will stop the pregnancy from growing, and the second pill, called misoprostol, will expel the pregnancy. Medical abortions make up the overwhelming majority of abortions (however, keep in mind that the abortion pill can only be taken up to 10 weeks of pregnancy). If you’re considering an abortion, the pill is likely what you’re most curious about. While we’ll still address surgical abortions throughout this article, much of the information will cover your questions about the pill and its risks and side effects.
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What Are the Disadvantages of Medical Abortion?
Many women prefer the pill because it feels less daunting than a surgical abortion. This makes sense—surgical procedures of any kind can be scary and always carry inherent risks. Taking a pill doesn’t seem as risky. However, before you decide to take the pill, you should know that the abortion pill still has its risks. In fact, one study found that the pill has a complication rate that’s four times higher than surgical abortions.
Both sets of pills you have to take during a medical abortion have side effects. For the first pill, some women describe feeling nauseous, weak, or dizzy. You may even experience fever, chills, vomiting, headaches, and diarrhea. However, it’s the second pill that causes the most pain. You may still experience the previous side effects, but this time you’ll feel severe cramping and begin spotting or bleeding.
People wonder if abortion pain is like labor pain, and when comparing the two, some women described the pain of the pill to be sharp and severe like labor. Others liken it to the worst period you’ll ever have or even a miscarriage. In an article in Vogue, some people described the pain as intense and bad enough to make them incoherent—a common thread was they felt unprepared for the severity of the pain.
Besides the common side effects, there are some rare, but dangerous, risks you should consider before taking the pill. These risks include:
- Incomplete abortion (a complication where the fetus is not completely expelled from the uterus)
- Hemorrhaging
- Infection
- Sepsis
If you take the pill and afterward have a high fever, still have pregnancy symptoms, soaking more than one pad an hour, an abnormal heartbeat, or pain that’s not responding to medication, get seen by a doctor as soon as possible.
What to Expect after a Surgical Abortion
Surgical abortions are done under either a local anesthetic or with sedation, so you will not feel pain during the procedure itself. However, post-surgery can bring some pain, side effects, and risks you should be aware of. Often, the later in the pregnancy the abortion occurs, the more risks and side effects you may experience.
In order to reduce any risks, a doctor should prescribe you antibiotics after your surgery to minimize the chance of infection; however, that doesn’t completely eliminate an infection risk. Other side effects women experience after a surgical abortion include:
- Bleeding or spotting for up to two weeks
- Cramping and abdominal pain
- Fatigue
There are also complications that can occur with a surgical abortion. Some are similar to the risks of the abortion pill, but surgical does have some unique risks due to the nature of the procedure. These complications are:
- Hemorrhaging
- Infection
- Sepsis
- Incomplete abortion
- Perforation of the uterus
- Cervical injury
If you’ve had a surgical abortion and are experiencing a high fever, severe bleeding (soaking more than one pad an hour), still have pregnancy symptoms, are unable to keep food or water down, cannot pass stool, or have severe pain in your stomach or leg, seek medical attention as soon as possible.
How Common Are Abortion Complications?
Unfortunately, there’s not a direct answer to how many women experience abortion complications or feel intense pain. Abortion complications and side effects are underreported because many women will either not go to the hospital when they experience these symptoms, or if they do, they won’t tell the doctor it’s due to an abortion. Furthermore, in 2016, the FDA stopped requiring doctors to report the adverse side effects women are experiencing from the pill.
However, despite not knowing the exact number, we know more and more women are coming forward with their stories about their abortion experience and the pain it caused them. If you want to read some of these stories, this website documents the testimonials of women who have been hurt by abortion and want to share their stories.
The Emotional Pain of Abortion
One factor you may not have considered is the emotional pain of an abortion. After an abortion, it is normal to feel a wide range of emotions. Pregnancy can cause heightened emotions, and even after an abortion, it may take a little while before these pregnancy hormones go back to normal. During this time, you may experience strong, more intense emotions before your body adjusts and goes back to normal.
We understand that abortion is a hard choice to make and can cause emotional stress before you come to a decision. If you’ve had an abortion and you feel regret, sadness, or even anger, you are not alone. These are common emotions to experience after an abortion. In fact, as many as 66% of women experience these emotions post-abortion.
Perhaps you’ve already had an abortion, and you’re struggling with the emotional pain. We want you to know that there is support and healing for you. At A Woman’s Choice, we are safe for you to talk to about your experiences and feelings. We provide post-abortion counseling to help you find healing.
A Word from a Local OB/GYN
Peter M. Alvarez, MD, FACOG, is a local OB/GYN in Lakeland at the Women’s Care Florida office. When asked for his insight about the risks of abortion, he shared the following comment, “A termination of pregnancy can have complications. Many are accomplished without complications, but there are risks. It is not a risk-free procedure. Much depends on the method used and how far along the pregnancy is. Regardless of method or age of the pregnancy, the possible risks are infection, bleeding, incomplete abortion requiring further surgery, sterility, and rarely death. The other aspect is the emotional hurt. The decision to abort a pregnancy can have an emotional toll that may last and manifest itself even many years after the abortion.”
We’re Here to Protect You from Harm
At A Woman’s Choice, we’re here to help you and protect you. That’s why we offer several services to help you make the best choice for you. If you’re considering an abortion and want to know more about the side effects or risks, our nurses are here to answer any questions you may have. You can even connect with a live nurse right now through our chat feature. We can also help you confirm your pregnancy and help you determine how far along you are with a free ultrasound.If you’ve already had an abortion and have experienced anything we’ve talked about today, we want to first acknowledge how hard it must have been, but you don’t have to carry that weight alone anymore. There are many women just like you, and many have come through our doors with that hurt. We come alongside you to help you heal from your abortion through our post-abortive program—where you don’t have to stay quiet about the pain you’ve experienced and can talk with someone who has been there too. Let us help you ease the burden, and come to a safe place to heal from your abortion experience.