What to Expect with a Surgical Abortion

A surgical abortion is a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy by emptying a woman's uterus of a developing baby. There are different methods used to do this, depending on the stage of pregnancy.

Safety

• According to Planned Parenthood, surgical abortions are considered safe, but risks include infection, injury to the cervix--neck of the uterus--or uterus and excessive bleeding.

First Trimester Abortions

• According to ProChoice.org, doctors typically use vacuum aspiration for surgical abortions that occur before about 12 to 14 weeks of pregnancy. This involves using special rods to dilate--open--the cervix and a vacuum aspirator--a tool that uses suction similar to that of a vacuum--to suck the contents out of the uterus.

D&C

• Sometimes doctors use a curette--a scoop- or spoon-shaped instrument--to scrape the walls of the uterus gently and remove tissues that remain after a vacuum aspiration. When a curette is used, the procedure may be referred to as a dilation and curettage (D&C).

D&E

• According to Blue Shield of California, dilation and evacuation (D&E) is typically used for abortions in the second trimester, after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy--up to 14 weeks in some clinics. To perform this type of abortion, a doctor dilates a woman's cervix more than with vacuum aspiration abortion and uses suction and medical instruments to remove the contents of the uterus.

Anesthesia

• The type of anesthesia used for a surgical abortion depends on the type of abortion and the woman's preferences. A woman may receive local anesthesia to numb the cervix, sedation drugs to induce a calm, sleepy feeling, general anesthesia to put her to sleep or nitrous oxide to give her a feeling of well-being and drowsiness during the procedure.

Medications

• Doctors may use medications to help open a woman's cervix. They may also prescribe antibiotics for infection prevention.