What should you bring with you to your abortion procedure (also called in-clinic abortion or surgical abortion)?

Avoid any substances that will alter your mental state, like alcohol, cannabis, or other drugs, on the day of your abortion. If you’ve used these substances, the health care provider may not be able to offer you pain medication or may not be able to perform your abortion at all. If you’re concerned about pain or you’re feeling anxious, many abortion providers offer pain medication and medication for anxiety. Talk to your provider in advance about what they can do for you.

How long an abortion takes depends on what type of abortion it is. **If you’re having a medication abortion with two different medications (mifepristone and misoprostol)**, you’ll get the first medication at your provider’s office and the second one to use at home (or someplace else safe and comfortable) one or two days later. The first medication stops the pregnancy from continuing to develop, and the second medication starts the actual abortion process. Once you take the second medication, the abortion can take up to several hours to be completed. **If you’re having a medication abortion with just one medication (only misoprostol)**, you will probably take four pills three times, every three hours. So, for example, if you take the first dose of four pills at noon, you’d take the second dose of four pills at 3 pm and the third dose of four pills at 6 pm. You’ll be taking a total of twelve pills over the course of 6 hours. Your provider may also tell you to take a fourth dose. Different providers may give different instructions, so make sure to read any instructions that are given to you. It’s important to take all of the pills that your provider tells you to take to end the pregnancy. With a misoprostol-only medication abortion, bleeding should start within four hours after taking the first dose. It may be heavy. You may have very strong cramping and pass large blood clots. Some side effects of the medication may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, back pain, headache, dizziness, and feeling tired. You may also have a mild fever on the day you take the pills. **With the abortion procedure**, the actual abortion typically only takes five to ten minutes, though you should plan on being at your abortion provider’s office for a few hours.

We would love to be able to tell you exactly what you can expect to feel during your abortion, but unfortunately there is no one answer to this question that will be true for everyone. Some people experience very little pain, like mild period cramps, and some people experience very intense pain, which feels more like the pain of the contractions you’d have when giving birth. The type of abortion you have will affect how long you’re in pain for and whether or not you can be sedated during the abortion. If you’re 13 weeks, 6 days pregnant or less, you may have a choice between the abortion pill (also called medication abortion) and the abortion procedure (also called in-clinic abortion). The other thing that may affect your decision if you’re concerned about pain is that the abortion procedure itself only takes 5 to 10 minutes, while the abortion can take several hours if you choose the abortion pill. If you have the abortion procedure, you may have the option to be sedated with IV medication. If you have “conscious sedation” administered this way you’ll be awake but very relaxed, and the procedure should be virtually pain-free. If you have general anesthesia, which is a type of IV sedation that puts you to sleep completely, you won’t feel or experience anything during the procedure—you’ll simply wake up when it’s over. If you’re not sedated, the painful part of the abortion will typically only last five to ten minutes. You should be offered pain medication that you can take by mouth if you’re not choosing sedation, and you may also be offered anti-anxiety medication that you can take by mouth. You will also have a numbing medication injected into your cervix. Many people find that any cramping is gone by the time they leave the health center, but you may experience some cramping or pain after the procedure. A heating pad should help reduce pain after the procedure. The level of pain people experience when having a medication abortion varies. For some people it may be similar to a heavy period and for others it may be more intense. If you choose the abortion pill, you can take over-the-counter pain medications or your provider may prescribe you pain medication for you to take at home. In addition to pain medicine, you may find that using a heating pad reduces pain. Other techniques like breathing exercises and meditation can also help with pain.