Pregnancy Complications That May Result In Late Term Abortion

During pregnancy, many complications may arise. While some complications only result in discomfort or pain to the mother, other complications are more severe and potentially fatal. If a life threatening complication has developed late in pregnancy, a mother may require the services of a Late Term Abortion specialist to negate the risk of possible maternal morbidity and mortality. Listed below are some maternal complications that may require an abortion late in pregnancy.

Life Threatening Complications That May Require Late Term Abortion:

Preeclampsia

This is a condition characterized by a mother's continued elevated blood pressure due to the pregnancy. Some cases of Preeclampsia can be controlled with the use of medications and bed rest. There are cases that cannot be controlled despite the aforementioned remedies and can progress to affect the liver and brain swelling which can lead to seizures and death. Immediate delivery rather vaginal or C-section may be the only hope in saving the woman's life. While this is favorable if the fetus has reached the point of viability, some Preeclampsia cases develop where a fetus is not viable. In such cases, a late term abortion may be needed. A mother can go to a late term abortion clinic if the hospital does not allow such procedures to be performed.

Uterine Cancer

There are cases when uterine cancer is detected only during late stages of pregnancy. To stop the spread of the cancer in the mother's body as well as the baby's, induction of labor for delivery or an abortion late in pregnancy must be done immediately.

Ectopic Pregnancy

This is an abnormal type of pregnancy where the fertilized egg cell implants outside the uterine cavity. This condition could be deadly for both mother and fetus. If undetected early and left untreated, this could cause massive bleeding due to the rupture of the mother's blood vessels, which would most likely result in death. Not all ectopic pregnancies are detected right away however, and if the condition is only identified late in the pregnancy removal of the pregnancy may be required. At times gestational tissue may have to remain in the mother's body as removal could lead to the mother bleeding to death. Intramuscular Methotrexate is a chemotherapy agent used to treat multiple cancers including certain cancers associated with pregnancy, is given to mother to help destroy the remaining placental tissue.

Which Type of Late Term Abortion Procedure Will You Need?

If your physician deems that you need a late term abortion, you should consult the service provider as to what procedure is best for you. A common procedure is called a dilatation and extraction, wherein the uterus is dilated and the fetus and placenta (after birth) are removed. Labor induction can be performed with uterotonic (cause the uterus to contract) medications like Misoprostol (cytotec) or Oxytocin (Pitocin). Medications are given to stop the fetal heart before performing either the dilatation and extraction or labor induction procedures. The third and last procedure is the hysterotomy. Similar in many ways to a C-section, a hysterotomy involves the administration of anesthesia to the mother, after which incision into the abdomen and uterus are performed. The fetus, umbilical cord and the placenta are removed, the incisions closed and a tight sterile bandage is placed across the lower abdomen.