Abortion At 11 Weeks - Available Methods, Indications, Possible Risks

2024 Author: Rachel Wainwright | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 07:39

Abortion at 11 weeks

An 11 week abortion is a medical operation to terminate a pregnancy before 12 weeks of gestation. In the pathology of pregnancy, abortion during this period can occur spontaneously.

How the fetus develops at 11 weeks of gestation

If women doubt the correctness of their decision, then before answering the question - up to how many months they have an abortion - many gynecologists talk about what can and how the fetus develops at this time. Often, after such an explanation, the decision whether to have an abortion or not changes.

The body of the fetus at 11 weeks looks disproportionate - the head occupies up to 1/3 of the entire body length. The skin is very thin and red due to the fact that blood vessels show through it. Through such thin skin, even the internal organs of the fetus can be discerned. The skeletal system continues to develop - the bones of the upper and lower extremities lengthen, ribs appear, and the skull and spine become stronger. Facial features become clearer - the chin, the bridge of the nose and the brow ridges are formed. Facial expressions are constantly changing. The auricles are in their usual place.

The fetus is able to make movements that vaguely resemble breathing - its diaphragm either contracts or relaxes. A significant part of the time, the fetus at 11 weeks is active, it moves, clenches its hands into fists, sucks a finger, reacts to sounds or physical stimuli. The brain develops rapidly, unconditioned reflexes appear.

Reasons for abortion at 11 weeks

In case of an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy, it is allowed to have a medical abortion at 11 weeks. This is the last week in which termination of pregnancy is not legally prohibited. After this period, abortion will not be just a criminal act - at this time it poses a serious threat to the health and life of the woman herself, since it is often performed outside a medical institution and without the participation of medical personnel.

Sometimes, after the first ultrasound examination, the fetus is found to have abnormalities and defects that are incompatible with life (for example, anencephaly). Then termination of pregnancy is a medical indication.

Common causes of impaired development of the unborn child are:

• Infectious diseases transferred at an early date;
• Taking certain medications that have a teratogenic effect on the fetus;
• Hereditary predisposition;
• The woman is over 40 years old.

Types of abortions at 11 weeks

The month in which an abortion is planned determines its method.

So, medication interruption at 11 weeks is too late to do, it is carried out only up to 8 weeks of pregnancy. The fertilized egg at the eleventh week of pregnancy is already quite tightly attached to the wall, and there is a high probability that medical abortion at 11 weeks will be ineffective.

Most often, at 11 weeks, a vacuum abortion (mini-abortion) is used to terminate a pregnancy. Its essence lies in the fact that the embryo is removed from the uterine cavity using a vacuum pump. This method is contraindicated in inflammatory and infectious diseases of the female genital organs. It has a minimal traumatic effect on the uterus and is performed under local anesthesia.

With an instrumental abortion at 11 weeks of gestation, the uterine cavity is blindly scraped with a special curette with a sharp edge, and then large parts of the destroyed embryo are removed from the uterine cavity with forceps.

Only a doctor can advise the most appropriate method for terminating a pregnancy, taking into account individual characteristics and possible contraindications.

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