Abortions survey says many women unprepared for the pain after medical abortion at home

An abortion is not a walk in the park as some may suggest!

It appears this study did not investigate whether the intensity of the pain was related to when during the pregnancy the medical abortion was performed. E.g. first three weeks vs. the last three weeks of the first 10 weeks.

"A British survey has found that many women choosing medical abortions at home are unprepared for the severity of the pain, having been told it would be no more painful than period cramps.

But the survey from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) an independent healthcare and abortion advice charity, revealed more than 40% of women reported the pain score at 8 or higher out of 10.

The results of the surveyed are mirrored elsewhere, with an Australian sexual health researcher saying: “…it’s often perhaps the worst period pain they felt.”  ...

A medical abortion involves taking two pills, mifepristone and misoprostol, in the early weeks of pregnancy. In England and Wales, where the survey was based, nearly all such abortions are carried out at home. ...

About half (48.5%) of the respondents said that the pain they experienced was more than they expected. ..."

From the abstract:

"Objective

To explore experiences of pain during medical abortion and provide patient-centred recommendations for improving abortion experience and pain counselling.

Methods

We invited patients of British Pregnancy Advisory Service who underwent medical abortion up to 10 weeks’ gestation to participate in an online, English language questionnaire from November 2021 to March 2022. Participants answered questions about pain, method preference, abortion experience, advice, and how they would describe pain experienced to a friend. In this secondary analysis, we analysed free-text responses using reflexive thematic analysis techniques. We used descriptive statistics and parametric tests to analyse quantitative responses.

Results

Of 11 906 patients invited to participate, 1596 (13.4%) completed the questionnaire, including at least one free-text comment. Participants used a range of descriptors for medical abortion pain across three broad themes: pain severity, pain quality and comparisons to other reproductive pain. Some found the commonly used analogy to period pain misleading. Many felt unprepared for the level of pain they experienced, which they attributed to provider comparisons to period pain, as well as a lack of detailed, realistic anticipatory pain counselling. Qualitative and quantitative results suggest pain experiences impact method preference. Participants recommended better counselling for pain and abortion preparation, including first-hand accounts of medical abortion at home and a wide and accessible range of descriptions of pain.

Conclusions

Abortion providers should use patient-centred recommendations to better prepare patients for pain during medical abortion. Setting realistic expectations can improve abortion experience and support informed method choice. Further research is needed to develop and test patient-centred counselling materials."

Abortions survey says women unprepared for the pain (Unfortunately, this article uses "people" instead of women. Very regrettable and appalling!)

Expectations and experiences of pain during medical abortion at home: a secondary, mixed-methods analysis of a patient survey in England and Wales (open access)

Figure 1 Flow chart for evaluation of pain management for medical abortion up to 10 weeks of gestation at British Pregnancy Advisory Service.