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Is oral medicine safe for abortion?

Dr B Shakuntala Baliga MD (AIIMS), FICOG
Professor and Senior Consultant Gynecologist & Colposcopist
Mazumdar-Shaw Center for Cancer Research & Narayana Hrudayalaya Multispecialty Hospital, Bangalore

Q: My wife is 33 years old and we have two children of 6 years and 2 years old. In between our two children my wife conceived 4 times. As we were not ready for the second child we aborted it by oral abortion medicine. Last year she had undergone a surgery for gallbladder stones. At the same time she was also operated for tubectomy. Now she is pregnant again since 2 months. Can she abort again by taking oral medicine for the 5th time? What precautions should we take while aborting?

A:Your wife should be examined to rule out an ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside uterus). In such a case, medical abortion is contraindicated. If it is intrauterine pregnancy, then medical abortion is possible till 7 weeks of gestation.