top of page
Gabriela Calderar

Why don't abortion pills work if you have an ectopic pregnancy?

Ectopic pregnancy

An ectopic pregnancy occurs when the fertilized egg grows in other places outside the uterus and is a rare condition that occurs in only 2% of pregnancies. The 90% of them form in the fallopian tubes, but can occur in an ovary and other areas. This is a dangerous condition that can have life-threatening complications, so you should get medical attention.


There are multiple risk factors for having it, such as:


  • Be older than 35 years old.

  • Having had an ectopic pregnancy in the past.

  • Having undergone tubal ligation.

  • Becoming pregnant with an intrauterine device.

  • Having endometriosis or pelvic inflammatory disease.

  • Having a congenital defect in the fallopian tubes or scarring from previous surgeries.


This type of pregnancy will not go to term and you will not be able to have a medical abortion at home. You can go to  Aya Contigo and take the quiz to find out if you are eligible for a safe medical abortion.

In ectopic pregnancy, as the product of fertilization is fixed in a place where it does not belong, at first you may not have symptoms other than those of pregnancy, but when it begins to grow you may experience vaginal bleeding and pain.



The danger is that the structure in which the ectopic pregnancy is growing can rupture and cause bleeding that requires emergency surgery to stop it.


You can verify that it is an ectopic pregnancy by having an ultrasound. Depending on how advanced it is, treatment includes medication and surgery.


The medication uses methotrexate, which stops the growth of the embryo and allows the remaining cells to be absorbed by the mother's body, as long as the pregnancy is not too advanced. When the embryo is large, a surgical removal must be performed .


Here's what happens with abortion pills


Las pastillas para abortar no funcionan en el embarazo ectópico

Sometimes people who want to have a safe abortion at home and use the pill regimen with mifepristone and misoprostol or misoprostol alone, find that it does not work because they have an ectopic pregnancy.


The reason that home medical abortion does not work is that misoprostol acts on the uterus, causing contractions to empty its contents, and cannot affect a pregnancy that is outside.



While medication abortion does not work to terminate ectopic pregnancy, there is also no evidence to suggest that it causes any unusual complications.


What you may notice when you use abortion pills and ectopic pregnancy is that there is minimal bleeding or no bleeding at all, and that your pregnancy symptoms, such as nausea, fatigue or breast discomfort, remain.


To check if your abortion was successful or not, you can take the Aya Contigo test here.

Why banning abortion is a problem in the treatment of ectopic pregnancy


The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says "the abortion ban threatens to impede treatment of ectopic pregnancies" because the protocols that are triggered may delay or even deny medical care.


"Health care professionals should never have to navigate vague legal or statutory language to determine whether the law allows them to exercise their professional judgment and provide evidence-based care," he says, adding, "Any enforcement of an abortion ban that affects those who need treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is inappropriate and will undoubtedly cost lives."





0 views

Comments


bottom of page