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| Overveiw of Physical Effects |  Surgical abortion at the early stage of pregnancy is a simple procedure. When performed within the 16th week by competent physician (or physician assistants, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners) it is even safer than delivery.
As surgical abortion method is a kind of surgical procedure it carries a small risk of potentially serious complications. This risk includes different injuries such as perforated uterus, perforated bowel or blander, sterility, septic shock, and even death. The risk of possible complications increases depending on how far the pregnancy has progressed, but remains less than complications that may happen through full term of pregnancy.
There are many factors that have great influence upon the risk of complications. They are: relative health risk of induced abortion and pregnancy, a lack of uniform definitions of terms, and difficulties in patient tending. The degree of risk is also dependent upon the experience and skill of practitioner, mother’s age, health and parity, pre-existing conditions, gestational age, instruments and methods used, medications used, and the quality of recovery and follow-up care. The degree of risk increases if abortion performed under conditions of ill-equipped and ill-staffed facility even by an experienced practitioner, that could caused death during pregnancy, birth or abortion.
In the United Kingdom the number of death caused by legal abortions from 1991 till 1993 was 5. In the United Sates during 1999 were 4 deaths due to legal abortions, 10 to miscarriages, and 525 due to pregnancy-related reasons.
Some physicians are on the side of using local anesthesia, because then patient can alert them to possible complications. The others advocate using of general anesthesia, in order to prevent patient movement, which may lead to a perforation. General anesthesia carries its own risk, including death. That is why public health officials recommend against its permanent use.
Dilation of the cervix may cause the cervical tears and perforations, including small tears that might not be apparent at necessary moment and might cause cervical incompetence in future pregnancies. After the first trimester of pregnancy most of physicians recommend using the smallest possible manual dilators rather than mechanical dilators.
Medical instruments are placed into the cervix in order to remove the fetus. In rare occasions these can cause perforation or laceration of the uterus, and damage to structures surrounding the uterus. In its turn laceration or perforation leads to even more serious complications.
Incomplete emptying of the uterus often may lead to haemorrhage and infection.
The list of the negative side-effects of the chemical abortion is also large. It includes risk of developing blood clods and blockage of blood vessels, which may causes heart attacks, strokes. Studies have indicated that the using of different abortifacient drugs increases the risk of both benign and malignant liver tumours. In case to combine smoking and the use some of drugs the great risk of fatal heart disease appears.
Sometimes it happens that abortion is unsuccessful, in this case the pregnancy continues. An unsuccessful abortion can also lead to the delivery of a live neonate, or infant. Such abortions called failed abortions. It is very rare and can late occur in the pregnancy.
There are many unsafe abortion methods, such as the use of certain drugs, herbs, or insertion of non-surgical objects into the uterus. They are potentially dangerous and carry a significant elevated risk for permanent injury or death. That is why abortion must be performed only under physician’s control.
Unfortunately, some rather serious problems may result from an abortion, including future miscarriages, infertility, and even breast cancer.
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