What is a self-managed or do-it-yourself abortion with pills?
Self-managed abortions (SMA) are abortions using abortion pills done by the pregnant person themselves, often at home or outside of a healthcare facility.
Using abortion pills starts a process similar to spontaneous miscarriages which frequently and usually occur without medical supervision. The World Health Organization recommends the self-management of the medical abortion process as a safe and effective option to end a pregnancy up to 13 weeks.
The self-management of medical abortions is a powerful tool that gives many more people access to safe abortion in a variety of circumstances: In low-resource settings, in rural areas, in countries with restrictive abortion laws or when having to keep the abortion secret. Even in countries with easy access to abortions, people may prefer to have a self-managed abortion in the privacy of their own home.
For a medical professional a medical abortion looks exactly like a spontaneous miscarriage and the treatment is the same. There are no tests that can prove that you have taken the abortion pills Mifepristone and Misoprostol. If you live in a country with restrictive abortion laws, you can still have a safe abortion at home and get accurate medical treatment in case of a rare complication.
To self-manage a medical abortion safely it is important…
- …to determine the duration of the pregnancy, and rule out any medical contraindications
- …to follow the instructions on how to administer the abortion pills according to the length of pregnancy and pills you have available
- …to have information available on how to spot a complication that needs professional medical care
- …assess if the abortion was successful
If you have any questions regarding your pregnancy or when using abortion pills at home, please contact the Women on Web Helpdesk at info@womenonweb.org. The Women on Web Helpdesk-Team is available in 16 languages 7 days a week and will get back to you within 24 hours.