Most women having surgery want to know about the risks involved. Pregnancy termination is a very safe procedure and most women have no complications at all. However, as with all surgery, some complications are possible. The complications of pregnancy termination are very similar to those that might follow any pregnancy. This means that, once you are pregnant, you can have complications or problems. They can occur whether you have a termination, a miscarriage, a regular delivery, a complicated delivery or a cesarean section. The complications of an early termination of pregnancy are similar to those of an uncomplicated labor and delivery but occur much less often.

MINOR COMPLICATIONS

These incur in a few percent of women and usually involve a slight increase in the amount of blood loss or a low grade infection. No treatment is necessary for the loss of a few additional ounces of blood. Oral antibiotic treatment is usually sufficient for low grade infections.

MAJOR COMPLICATIONS

More serious complications occur in approximately 1% of women undergoing pregnancy termination. These include injury to the uterus or cervix by the instruments involved causing tears or perforation in these structures, heavy blood loss requiring blood transfusion and serious infection possibly requiring hospitalization for high dose antibiotic therapy. Another complication is incomplete removal of the pregnancy tissue. This usually required a second D&C. The risks and complications of pregnancy termination are related to the duration of pregnancy. The procedure is safer in women who are 3 weeks pregnant than in women who are 3 months pregnant.

FUTURE CHILD-BEARING ABILITY

Usually this is not harmed by pregnancy termination. In rare cases a woman's future ability to have children might be decreased. The exact level of this risk is unknown but it is much less than 1%. There may also be a very small increase in the risk of premature delivery. In order to minimize the possibility of complications and problems please follow all of the instructions given to you by my nurses or me and take all medications prescribed and keep your follow-up appointment. If you have any other questions, please ask one of my nurses or me.