Expert: Pat G - 9/10/2009

Question
hi, im 21 years old. i just had my 1st pregnancy when i was 17 and i had a cesarean section. Now, i am 3 days delayed and i took a pregtest stating that im pregnant. I already took large doses of vitamin c believing that it could terminate my pregnancy and i am planning to have an induced abortion. would it be safe for me? i have had researches stating that its not. Please help me. hoping for your reply soon.

Answer
Hi, Pam,

The short answer to your question of whether abortion is safe or not, is No. And as far as I know, all Vitamin C will do is upset your intestines.

You are probably more at risk than average because of your Caesarian section. An abortion could cause the area of the scar to rupture. That could pose a danger to your life. In addition, having an abortion could mean you would have to have a Caesarian in the future, with a future child. I can explain a technique you can use throughout pregnancy to make a Caesarian in this pregnancy less likely. Let me know if you want to do that.

A woman's body was designed to protect her child, so any kind of abortion will cause damage. Just how much damage, and when it will manifest itself would be unknown. Let me know what your circumstances are, and perhaps I can help you find a better answer.

Here are some possible problems. If you have a pill abortion, you will take a medication that is not supposed to be used by pregnant women. The manufacturer specifically says so. There are several ways it can kill a woman, sometimes within hours. It could cause the uterus to rupture, or cause toxic shock syndrome (which kills within hours) or it could cause you to bleed to death. If you have a surgical abortion, it will tend to cause scarring, because they scrape the delicate lining of the uterus and they do have to cut loose the placenta. This can make you vulnerable to nasty infections for awhile, and the scarring can mean a future child wouldn't find a good spot to implant, so he or she would implant too close to your cervix. This causes placenta previa, which usually means having a Caesarian. It can also cause prolonged labor, which also might make a Caesarian necessary.

In addition, they have to force open the cervix. This causes micro tears, and may result in your cervix being too weak to hold a full term baby. The result is miscarriage or very early birth. This is a leading cause of cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism in the baby. And it could cause sterility, so you would never conceive another child at all. Overall, abortion damages the reproductive system of more than 1/3 of all women who have them.

A surgical abortion can also cause immediate complications or death. This includes hemorrhage, infection, damage to other organs, reaction to anesthesia, and so forth. It can leave you paralyzed or unable to communicate as well. If abortion hurts you, who will take care of your other child, if you are raising him or her?

Abortion also causes emotional problems. A woman has six times the chance of committing suicide that she would have if she carried to term. She can also die from homicide, auto accident, drug overdose, and alcohol abuse, all within that first year after abortion. It can lead to self abuse, such as cutting, and to anorexia or bulimia.

It's not worth it. You are far too precious to do this, and you deserve better.

You can find help with whatever problems you face by finding an organization in your area. Go here: http://www.heartbeatinternational.org/worldwide_directory.asp . Choose "Philippines" from the country list. There are 24, on two pages. If you click on "details", it will tell you how to get in touch with them. These organizations will help you with your medical needs, financial problems, and with dealing with family, friends, and the father of your child.

Please take care of yourself, and stay safe! Let me know how you do, and feel free to write back.