What are the abortion risks and how to prevent them?
Last Updated: Nov 26, 2025
For a woman who is to experience an abortion soon, there are many valid questions like:
Will abortion affect my future pregnancies?
Are there any side effects of abortion?
Can abortions cause fibroids?
Will my womb damage after abortion?
Is abortion safe? Is abortion confidential?
Can anyone know that I have had an abortion?
And the list is long….
Even you may share similar concerns and ask us in the comment section below.
This post intends to answer all your queries regarding risks with abortion. We will bust some myths and decode facts along the way. And a go-to guide that can assist you in making a wise decision for your health and life.
The biggest thing to know is that all abortion risks are preventable with knowledge and by taking the right abortion-related decisions.
If you are seeking a safe, legal and confidential abortion, it is not far from reality. It’s too easy to avail for any woman residing in any part of the world. Even for you. Just stay tuned and read along.
Possible abortion complications and the causing reasons:
Knowing the causative factor of any complication will help us read between the lines. This is because when we know the first trigger of any complication, we know where it originated. And the prevention at just that very beginning can save unwelcome consequences.
Risks with abortion at the patient’s end:
Delay:
Delay in Abortion decision:
As soon as a woman realizes that she missed her period, she should never delay in getting a pregnancy test done. If you missed your period and pregnancy test is positive with an unwanted pregnancy, you should never delay in deciding what next.
There are several thoughts women may consider before opting for an abortion, like
“Am I doing the right thing?”
Are you too in this dilemma? Let us make it very clear that this question stands relevant only in events when you have the option to go ahead with the pregnancy and you are ready for the upcoming child. And this is rarely in events when unmarried girls or single mothers get pregnant. Or even in cases where a woman gets pregnant out of marriage or the marriage plans or family planning is not on the cards.
It is you as a woman who has the right to decide whether or not you want the child. It is a part of the reproductive rights of women. So, if you want to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, abortion is your choice. And no other factor should come in between since each passing day is the delay.
And delay tapers down abortion options. Earlier you are, lesser are the risks and complications with abortions.
Delay in consulting a gynaecologist/registered medical practitioner:
Whether it is a planned or an unwanted pregnancy, it is important to visit the gynaecologist as early as possible. This is essential to ascertain the length and location of the pregnancy.
Length of pregnancy: Doctor decides the abortion method according to the gestation length.
- The medical method of abortion: For terminating pregnancies less than 6-8 weeks.
- Vacuum Aspiration method of abortion: For terminating pregnancies less than 12 weeks.
- Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) or the Surgical method of abortion: For terminating pregnancies beyond 12 weeks but in legally permissible age which varies from country to country.
Location of pregnancy: Normal pregnancies are intrauterine where the embryo implants in the uterine cavity by attaching itself to the endometrium.
But in some cases, the embryo does not reach the uterine cavity and remains in the midway. This can be a serious case with a delay. In case the location of pregnancy is ectopic, the gynaecologist can immediately terminate the same with the help of medicines.
But if you delay in case of an ectopic pregnancy, the fallopian tube may get ruptured leading to internal bleeding, loss of partial fertility and can even be fatal if immediate corrective surgery is not available on time.
This is how delay at the end of the patient can lead to serious ill-effects.
Opting for unsafe abortions:
Sadly, unlike India, many places like Oman, Dubai, UAE, Sharjah, Kuwait, Qatar and others do not permit abortions legally for unwanted pregnancies. Such women think that they do not have any choice other than opting for unsafe abortions.
Even in countries where abortion is legal, some women out of ignorance, negligence, cost-cutting, societal stigma or other factors resort to unsafe abortions. And unsafe abortions put them in grave consequences. They may have to pay the cost of an unsafe abortion either by staying all life with a medical complication or even with life in some cases.
“Unsafe abortions are the leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality across the world.”
If you too are living in a country with restricted abortion laws, we advise you not to panic and rush for an unsafe abortion. It may be one of the biggest mistakes of your life.
Buying abortion pills or MTP kits without a doctor’s prescription, self-administration of abortion pills, DIY abortion methods, visiting quacks or unprofessional people in unsafe settings are those abortion decisions that are always wrong.
Besides legal punishment on getting caught, you are putting your life and health at risk. Moreover, even your privacy that you may be wanting for your abortion status or even for the fact that you were pregnant will become public knowledge. This may make you the victim of family wrath or societal stigma.
You do have better options where you can get a safe, legal as well as a confidential abortion. Keep reading further so that you may be able to decide the best for yourself.
Let us begin with one complication at a time. Along the way, we will be discussing how they are preventable.
Risks with abortion at the hands of unsafe abortion practices:
Since we have the power to make decisions, we are responsible for what we choose. And it is us who have to face the consequences, be they good or bad.
Abortion complications also start with this one wrong abortion decision, i.e., opting for an unhealthy or an unsafe abortion method to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy in a hurry.
Self-administration of abortion tablets:
Buying abortion pills or an MTP kit through illegal means and their self-administration is the first thing a woman may think of when she wants an earliest and secret abortion. But this decision can put her at unknown risks.
- The first risk is the legal punishment. Even in countries where abortion is legal, for the safety of the woman, abortion pills are available only on valid doctor’s prescription.
- The second risk is the risk of incomplete abortion. The abortion pills method is not 100% efficient. Hence, there is always a risk of incomplete abortion. Incomplete abortions may lead to infections, abdominal pain, discomfort, vaginal bleeding and many more.
This risk is preventable by taking abortion pills only if prescribed for your case-specific, i.e., for aborting an early pregnancy. Taking abortion pills beyond the recommended period has a higher probability of an incomplete abortion since the size of the embryo increases each day. And beyond the period of 6-8 weeks, it may not be possible to remove it entirely from the uterus.
Even if you are early, still there are chances of incomplete abortion since medicines are approximately 92% to 95% effective only.
Incomplete abortions need surgical means for completion.
3. The third risk with self-administration of abortion tablets is in a case of an ectopic pregnancy. In case the someone takes abortion pills for an ectopic pregnancy, abortion will not take place. The woman may still carry the embryo in the fallopian tube or other likely location that can rupture in some time to come.
This is the abortion risk that can impact future pregnancies. A woman has two fallopian tubes connecting two ovaries to the uterus, one on the right side and the other on the left. If other physiological conditions are healthy, each side is responsible for nearly 50% of fertility. With a ruptured fallopian tube from one side, this probability of getting pregnant in future reduces to half.
Other conditions:
4. The fourth risk is an allergy or contraindication or any interaction. You may not be knowing whether you are allergic to the medicines you are taking or whether they may interact with any medicine(s) you may already be taking for some other medical condition.
5. The fifth risk is the risk of buying the wrong abortion tablets. If you are trying to purchase abortion tablets online by an illegal supplier, you may not know whether they will work as expected or not.
6. The sixth risk due to the lack of medical professional knowledge is the dosage, frequency and mode of administration of abortion tablets. A certified and experienced doctor knows the best for each patient. Some patients may need a lower dose due to less body mass index or some may need more than what they may procure illegally.
Besides dosage, some women may have physiological conditions needing vaginal administration and some may be better with oral administration. You may end up with a wrong dose, wrong method of administration and even wrong time gap between different medicines.
Side effects
7. Medicines may have side effects and some women tend to be troubled a lot by these side-effects. Some chronic side-effects may be very harmful like the use of abortion tablets, Mifepristone associated with an increased risk of uterine leiomyomas.
(Ref.: Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Apr; 96(17): e6680.)
So, yes abortion may cause conditions like fibroids in future if they are unsafe. But, the side-effects are preventable through better efficient methods of abortion.
All of these as a set of abortion risks with buying abortion tablets without prescription may lead you into the want of another method to complete the abortion. And for this, if you visit an unprofessional, the associated risks become more and more burdensome.
And it all started with one wrong decision of self-administration of abortion pills. These are preventable by visiting a certified abortion clinic where the doctor will recommend the best abortion procedure for your individualized case.
To know where you can easily avail a safe abortion and that too confidentially, keep reading ahead.
Abortion risk with unsafe surgical abortions:
Either as a result of an incomplete abortion due to self-administration of abortion tablets or due to pregnancy length, women may need to undergo surgical abortions.
Surgery, whether small or big is an invasive procedure and needs a lot of precision to make it both efficient and safe.
Surgical abortions too are small procedures but the performing abortion team, the hospital settings, the healthcare facilities and the patient herself define the safety parameters.
When performed at certified abortion clinics following all guidelines recommended by the WHO and ensuring the patient’s access to CAC, only such abortions are safe abortions. In such events, abortions are usually safe since complete care taken avoids complications and side effects.
But while speaking of unsafe abortions where women first take abortion pills and end up with incomplete abortions or the ones where they think they have no other option are unsafe.
Coming to the complications associated with unsafe abortions:
Injury:
Surgical abortions require uterine scraping with medical tools and other pieces of equipment. Unqualified and untrained people cannot handle such procedures. Even the slightest mishandling at the hands of the performer can cause injury to internal organs.
These injuries may range from mild to severe. And if you ask, “whether an abortion can affect my future pregnancy?”, then the answer is “Yes”. Injury to the reproductive organs can affect future fertility.
But again, when done by qualified and trained professionals, these injuries are preventable. They take complete precautions, use the best and latest pieces of equipment and with regular monitoring, they can track the procedure and its efficiency. Whereas, you may not have these in an unsafe abortion setting.
Internal injuries may even lead to haemorrhage and the condition can be fatal. On top of that, the unprofessional person may not be able to handle such emergencies. There have been many abortion stories where women spoke of their worst experiences having left to themselves by unprofessional people with a complication like a damaged womb.
We are sure, you may experience a safe abortion experience where you, your health, your life and your privacy are all safe.
For such a safe experience, you may speak to a professional at the helpline number of American Hospital Bangalore (AHB) located in the Bengaluru city of India. It is one of the best abortion hospitals in the world having world-class facilities. Internationally trained doctors and on the team use the latest medical procedures and devices to ensure each woman gets the best and safe abortion.
Lear more about AHB and other things that make it a premier abortion hospital while learning of other abortion risks.
Extreme pain and heavy bleeding:
Since unsafe abortions do not use anaesthesia or medicines for pain management, they may result in extremely painful experiences for women undergoing such procedures.
Even bleeding is very heavy since such people do not use the latest tools that can evacuate all the uterine contents and may not take the necessary precautions.
In safe hospitals like AHB, you can expect to experience zero to minimum bleeding with a surgical abortion. Yes, it might come as a surprise to you since it’s a common perception that abortion means heavy bleeding. It is true in the events of the use of abortion pills.
On the other hand, safe surgical abortions are meant to clean the uterine cavity. Since the doctor removes most of the contents within the clinic, there is very less bleeding that usually lasts not more than a day or two. And many patients after availing of safe abortions say that they did not bleed at all. Safe and effective, conservative procedures like uterine packaging shorten the hospital stay to avoid the need for other aggressive procedures. You can not expect to receive such things at unsafe centres.
At AHB, all abortion procedures complete on the same day of the appointment and patients can take discharge the same day in a couple of hours as they feel comfortable. This is why women from foreign countries plan short abortion visits to Bangalore. They avail of same-day abortion procedures and return to their countries with the confidence of successful abortion. If you are planning to travel to Bangalore, you can check out the flight schedules from your city or country to Bangalore through various booking sites like Make My Trip, Ease My Trip, etc.
Loss of fertility:
As mentioned above, injury to reproductive organs can lead to loss of partial or complete fertility.
Infections:
With surgeries, there is always a probability of infections. And unsafe abortion centres do not take any prevention(s) to minimize the risk of infections. And you can expect not to be receiving any medicine(s) for the same pre or post-abortion.
Infections like Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), yeast infection, bacterial vaginosis, candidiasis, etc are very common post-surgical infections. The discomfort due to these infections impacts the personal lives of women to great extent.
And if speaking about AHB, all equipment and tools are sterilized before and after surgeries. The hospital premises are completely disinfected and you can expect soothing, calming, relaxing and clean hospital premises. Hygiene is of utter importance and you can experience the same at the hospital.
Moreover, antibiotics and other medicines are administered both during the procedure and prescribed to be taken post-abortion to rule out infections.
Pre-abortion care:
Not all hospitals perform prenatal diagnostic tests that are required for safe abortions.
But at AHB, all the essential tests will be done and that too in-house. You may not have to wander here or there for tests and then for reports. All are done on a single appointment. These tests ensure that the best abortion procedure is prescribed for your case.
Whether it is Vacuum aspiration abortion or D&E abortion, it is ensured the one that is best for you will be performed. All abortion procedures at AHB are Gentle care abortion procedures that are painless and safe.
Private consultation:
At AHB, each patient gets a private one-to-one consultation. The doctors and the staff members are professional and do not judge any patient for any reason. Your privacy, your decision and your abortion status all are respected.
And an important question that comes up very often, especially in the case of unmarried girl abortions is that, “Can anyone tell in future that I have had an abortion?”
The answer is “NO” provided that the abortion is carried out at a certified, reputed and trustworthy abortion clinic like AHB. The hospital follows a non-disclosure policy and does not reveal any information regarding any patient to anyone besides herself.
The judgmental behavior of abortion staff can negatively impact the woman’s health.
There are many abortion stories where the judgmental attitude of the doctor or the nurses, their harsh or personal remarks leave women in mental stress and negatively impact their psychological health. But at AHB, the doctors and nurses all are caring, compassionate, friendly on one hand and professional and non-judgmental on the other. This ensures that the physical, mental and psychological health of the patient all are taken care of.
Post-abortion care:
Post-abortion care is an essential element of CAC. It is necessary that the abortion is safe and the woman’s health restored at the earliest.
At AHB, post-abortion consultation for precautions and preventions are provided. Medicines and supplements to help in rapid recovery are prescribed. The hospital prescribes high-quality standardized medicines with proven results. The doctor also ensures that no interacting or contraindicated or any medicine you may be allergic to is prescribed.
Why abortion in India may be your best choice?
Women in different countries know how availing of abortions is difficult in their country due to restricted abortion rules. But not all countries have the same abortion rules. This is what you may not know.
India is a country where abortion is legal and do you know that its liberal abortion rules permit abortions for a wide range of circumstances.
And here are a few quick facts to help you find relief and opt for India as the best country to visit for abortion:
- You can avail of legal abortion in case of contraceptive failure, rape/incest, to protect your physical or mental health and even in cases of fetal anomalies.
- Also, you do not need any other person(s) consent, be it parents, guardians, spouse for an abortion if you are an adult. You can obtain a legal abortion only with your consent.
- The legally permissible gestation age for abortion in India is up to 20 weeks for most circumstances and up to 24 weeks for special circumstances.
If you are seeking a safe, painless, legal, private, confidential, non-judgmental and professional abortion experience, it is advised that you may schedule the earliest appointment with the hospital. There have been many happy patients the hospital has seen as you can see through their testimonials. And you too can have a safe abortion experience. After all, it is your health and life and you need to make wise decisions to protect them.
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