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Arquimedes Reyes

How to Have a Safe Home Abortion According to WHO

Updated: May 17


Home safe abortion with pills according to WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends guidelines to have a safe home abortion if the woman or pregnant woman decides to do it. She should be able to choose how to do it, depending on how far along she is in her pregnancy and her state of health. To help her, it is essential that she has adequate and scientifically accurate information about the possible risk factors and the advantages and disadvantages of each of the available methods.


Terminating a pregnancy is your decision and one way to do it in a safe, effective and self-managed way, in a safe space for you, is through the use of abortion pills. In the WHO clinical practice manual for safe home abortion, you find safe options for how to abort at home. They suggest two pill methods. One combined misoprostol and/or mifepristone and the other misoprostol alone. Both are recommended up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.



The trade name of the pills may be different depending on the region or country. Mifepristone may be available as Mifeprex or Mifegyne. It should be noted that in some Latin American countries it is not registered and may be difficult to find. Misoprostol, on the other hand, is much more accessible in terms of availability and is available in pharmacies as Cytotec, Taneciprol or Cytil.



Using Just Misoprostol


It is a medication that produces contractions in the uterus and dilation of the cervix. This causes the expulsion of the gestational sac and tissue. In addition, it is important to mention that clinical or surgical intervention is not necessary. The risks are minimal if used correctly.


The procedure with misoprostol alone consists of using 12 pills, divided into 3 doses of 4 pills every 3 hours. These pills must be placed under the tongue (sublingual) or inside the vagina. Both methods are effective but the sublingual method may be more convenient. This method avoids leaving residue in the vagina, which minimizes exposure to risk in settings where termination of pregnancy is illegal.



Home safe abortion with misoprostol according to WHO

The pills should be left to dilute under the tongue for 30 minutes. If any pills remain after 30 minutes, they can be spit out and the procedure is still effective. In some cases, these pills may cause vomiting, if vomiting occurs before that time, four more pills should be swallowed. If vomiting occurs within an hour after the pills have dissolved, nothing happens, it is still effective in achieving the home abortion.


With Misoprostol and Mifepristone


As another safe option on how to have an abortion at home, mifepristone is a medication that is combined with misoprostol to speed up the process. In this case, take one 200 mg mifepristone pill and 24 to 48 hours later, take a single dose (4 pills) of misoprostol. Medications to relieve pain and nausea should be taken into consideration in case they occur. Side effects usually include vomiting, diarrhea, chills and fever. For these symptoms, the use of ibuprofen up to 800 g during treatment is recommended. A drug to avoid, as much as possible, is Buscapine. This is usually used for pain relief, but in this case it could prevent or decrease uterine contractions and that is precisely what we expect from the home abortion process.


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