You live in Latin America, you think you might be pregnant and to your mind comes the ancestral recipe that you have heard your aunts repeat and that you have heard in rumors all your life: take cinnamon to get your period. But, is cinnamon for abortion a safe option?
In Venezuela, where abortion is illegal, the popular saying is that taking 'malta' with cinnamon to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. In the forum of Aya Contigo this question has also been raised. First, it should be clarified that malta is an industrialized beverage in Venezuela, which is made with barley and raising agent and by itself has no abortifacient effect.
On the other hand, cinnamon is widely recommended throughout Latin America as a natural remedy to provoke abortions. Media outlets such as Infobae publish that "cinnamon can stimulate uterine contractions, presenting a risk of pregnancy complications", but does not cite any studies or sources to back this up.
Cinnamon for abortion used in developing countries
In its publication "Abortion in the Developing World", the World Health Organization (WHO) details the use of cinnamon tea mixed with alcohol to induce abortions, but emphasizes that it has not been proven to actually work. In the cases raised in the text, women resorted to different methods and concoctions, and it was not possible to establish a certain connection between a particular method and the termination of pregnancy.
The publication points out that limited access to health services, magical thinking and superstitions along with oral tradition play a role in the transmission of these home remedies from generation to generation. Despite its popularity, there are no studies that support cinnamon as an effective abortion method. In fact, there is no evidence that cinnamon has any negative effect on pregnant women.
What happens when you drink cinnamon tea
Healthline states that cinnamon tea in the United States has been used to induce labor, but cautions that it has not been determined what is a healthy amount of cinnamon to ingest during pregnancy. Instead, it lists some of the benefits of its consumption, such as that may reduce the risk of infection and inflammation and may help lower blood pressure.
In general, it is not recommended that you experiment with concoctions and teas because you don't know how your body may react. Often, those who resort to herbal remedies find that there are no medical studies to validate them or there are not many people with real knowledge about the medicinal use of plants for abortion purposes.
So if you want to have an abortion, there are safe, proven, and affordable options with pills for you to do it yourself.
What to do if I want to have an abortion at home?
At Aya Contigo we offer you digital accompaniment before, during and after your abortion process, with the protocol with pills approved by the WHO.
This protocol has two options: the first consists of a mifepristone pill and then several doses of misoprostol, or you can abort using only misoprostol.
If you don't know the dosage, if you don't know what is normal bleeding or what symptoms to expect during an abortion, the Aya Contigo team is online to help you. Not only with medical information but with loving and non-judgmental accompaniment.
Forget the cinnamon tea and go to our app HERE for safe and reliable information about abortion and contraception.
Visit our forum to discuss your rights and get tips on sexual and reproductive health.
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