Does the abortion procedure hurt? If so, how much?

Question

my friend needs one. please don't lecture me on how i should tell my friend to not get one, i just want an answer.

Answer 1

Yes, it does hurt. You will get a shot in your v****a to dialate your cervix, which is excruciating. The procedure itself doesn't hurt, but afterward you will cramp like labor pains, and the guilt will stay with you forever.

Answer 2

It hurts more emotionally than physically!

Answer 3

Your friend will be given medication to help relax her and may even make her tired enough to sleep during the procedure.  It only takes a few minutes, then she will be taken to recovery for a short time, then be able to go home.

She will probably feel slight pain, no worse than cramps for a few days.  Some people apparently feel fine physically and are able to go back to work the next day, depends on the experience and persons pain tolerance.

Make sure your friend seeks counseling to help her make an informed decision and to let her talk through her feelings.

Be there for her, that's the best thing you could do for her. Best of luck :)

Answer 4

It doesn't hurt physically, but mentally and emotionally, you are in for a life of PAIN....you cannot get past it.  You will be sorry for eternity. You will ALWAYS wonder who that little person would be now, if you had not scraped them from your womb.  All they were asking for was a warm place to develop until they could make it in the outside world...and the person they depended on most   their...... MOTHER....will decide if they are to stay  or go.  If you are thinking of abortion, please consider adoption instead.  Please.

Sunnysea....I am sure most girls feel relief immediately. But you cannot tell me that for 40 yrs  I have not had much depression  and   felt much guilt for having had an abortion. YOu don't know what is in my mind, or has been. so you cannot say that those feeling I talked about are not true.  YOu are very ignorant and uninformed to even think that could be true. why would all these women say they have had much emotional pain, if it wasn't true?  

And the "stuff"  that comes out..and the big clots???????Those are babies, not stuff.   The big clots...one is a baby. I saw mine.....and fainted.  Because then the reality hit me.  I was NOT  relieved.   I was so sorry.   You had better learn you can never tell someone that what they feel is not true.  That is too ignorant to even give more time to.   Except to say...what you're saying is not true.

Answer 5

Why do people ask these questions. If your friend is pregnant and wants an abortion she needs to go to the Dr. They will tell her everything she needs to know, we are not Dr.'s and this is the pregnancy section so I'm sure women here don't know what an abortion procedure feels like.  

Answer 6

Tell her to go to http://www.abortion.com then click on her state then a clinic from there it will answer all her questions.

Q | Will the surgical abortion hurt?

A | A surgical abortion can cause cramping, similar to cramping experienced with a menstrual period. Pain medication is given before and after the procedure. Remember the procedure lasts 5-10 minutes, depending on how far you are into the pregnancy. With assistance of the surgical assistant and the pain medication, you will be able to get through the procedure with minimal difficulty.

Answer 7

No, it doesn't hurt.

Answer 8

It depends on how far along she is and what kind of procedure she gets.

Emotionally, yes, it will hurt-- most likely for the rest of her life.  There are clinics where they will listen and talk with her about this decision.  Often, medical doctors don't offer to help people decide, they just offer their services, and people are scared and want someone to tell them what to do.  I've worked with women in this situation for a long time.  Tell her to really talk this through with someone, get ALL the facts, and think about all her options before making any decisions.  

Answer 9

It won't hurt, they give you anesthetics so you won't feel any pain during the procedure. Go to a free women health clinic near you and you can get all the information you need. However deciding to get an abortion is not a choice that should be taken lightly because as someone said, it hurts mentally. Make sure your friend knows what she is doing, considers all her possible options, and thinks about what the future after she makes her choice will be like. Good luck and sorry to hear you and your friend are in such a tough situation.

Answer 10

It depends.  First, on how far along your friend is in her pregnancy.  The further along she is, the larger the doctor will need to dilate her cervix to remove the pregnancy and the dilation of the cervix causes low down cramping like what you might experience on the first day of a crampy period right when it is starting:  more dilation=more cramping. Also, as the pregnancy and uterine lining are removed, the uterus shrinks back down to its normal size--this is the same thing that causes cramps during your period, except with your period, the lining comes out over several days and during the abortion, stuff comes out in a matter of about 2-4 minutes.  The further along she is, the more stuff there is to come out, the more the uterus has to shrink, and the more potential for cramping.  Second, it depends on how relaxed your friend can be during the procedure...just like with a pap smear, if you are tense, the speculum is more uncomfortable than if you can relax your muscles.  

Also, the doctor will numb the cervix before she dilates it because dilating it without numbing it would hurt - this is done with a series of shots like at the dentist, but the shots are in the cervix.  There aren't a lot of nerve endings on the cervix, but your friend might feel a pinch with the first shot, she might not feel it at all...she probably won't feel any of the rest of the shots.  

Also, you should know that there are two kinds of abortions.  What I have just described is the surgical abortion.  If your friend is very early in her pregnancy and responsible, she may be a candidate for a medical abortion.  That one is where she takes a pill by mouth and then follows up a day or two later (depending on the doctor's instructions) with either more pills by mouth or inserting pills in her v****a (again depending on the protocol the doctor follows--either is safe).  The pills end the pregnancy and cause your uterus to expel it like a miscarriage.  It can be crampy like a heavy period, but the doctor's will prescribe vicodin or something.  With the surgical procedure, your friend will likely have options for pain medication.  She will have more options for stronger meds if she has someone with her who can take care of her after and drive her home/keep her awake in the taxi, so, if you can go with your friend, that will help.  Personally, I have had a medical abortion and it was like a heavy period, hardly any cramping at about 5 weeks.  I didn't need anything stronger than ibuprofen.  But, the medical abortion is not for everyone.  You MUST follow the instructions exactly and you MAY see large clots coming out and that grosses some people out.  Plus, you don't know when the pills are going to work for you and make you start bleeding, so you just wait, which can be annoying or make it way less convenient if you are in school or need to hide it from parents, etc.  Also, you don't know if it worked until you go in for your follow-up exam.  Some ladies prefer the surgical cause you schedule it and the surgery itself takes 5-7 minutes, you know you aren't pregnant anymore by the time you leave the clinic, and the doctor is right there so you are closely supervised.  As for a previous comment about abortions causing emotional pain.  That is not true for all.  I had no doubts at the time that I was doing the right thing and I have never had a single regret.  I have worked in clinics as a counselor who supported women during their abortion appointments--lots of women describe their main feeling as relief.  If your friend knows that it is not the right time for her to have a child and she is strong in her decision, she is unlikely to regret it or feel lingering emotional pain --especially with nonjudgmental support from friends like you!  Good luck.  

Answer 11

My mother had an abortion 25 years and she says that she will always regret it. I am 30 weeks pregnant and when I found out I was pregnant I wanted to have an abortion because I was going through a very rough time with my husband. I thank God that I had people in my life that told me how wrong I was and that it was not the baby's fault that I was pregnant and in a bad situation. Now that I feel my baby move and almost due, I regret it so much that it even crossed my mine. I pray every night and every night I cry because I feel so bad that I was thinking of killing my child, I didn't go through with it but it is something that I will have to live with. I THOUGHT OF MURDERING MY DAUGHTER. I feel like a piece of **** for just thinking about it. Its something that I'm gonna have to live with for the rest of my life, and I didn't even go through with it. Imagine how your friend is gonna feel if she goes through with it? Stop her from doing such a thing...please check out this link.

http://www.geocities.com/pregnancyhelpno...

Answer 12

no it doesnt hurt, they pretty much gas you up and you wake up and they have food and drinks ready for you, but the only down is that you have a very heavy period for about 2 months, but no it doesnt hurt a little bit.

sexy_mummy

Answer 13

It doesn't really hurt at all, sometimes afterwards you might have a slight tummy pains which are similar to period pain which you can just take a normal pain killer for

Answer 14

i've had one before. not very proud of it, and before i get lectures, i did not want one. there were many MANY complications to my pregnancy, and i cried for many nights. the chances of my little girl having any quality of life was slim. and she was going to have to have three open heart surgeries when she was born, if she even made it to term. it was a decision i made and to this day i often regret it.

but about your question, no it does not hurt. i was 4 and a half months along when i had the procedure done. all they do is insert lamia's (sp?) which are seaweed type sticks that open your cervix enough so they can do the procedure. depending how far along you are this may be a one to two day process. your friend may feel some pressure while her cervixs is being opened and when they insert the sticks (but they will numb the area for her), and maybe some cramping, but it is not bad. she will be put under anesisia (sp?) if she chooses and will wake up after it is done. she will prob have bleeding much like a period and some camping afterwards but they can give her something for the pain.  

i hope this helps. and no worries, i am not one to judge. i just hope she is doing this for the right reasons. because babies are a miracle. but like i said, i am not one to judge. hope all goes well for her.