Expert: Pat G - 4/1/2010

Question
QUESTION: its been a lil over 24hrs of taking the 2nd set of pills and i have no sign of bleeding just a few cramps. im just bout to be 9weeks and im scared and worried that da pill didnt work.

ANSWER: Hello, shan,

They probably didn't work. It's too late in pregnancy. Once the baby starts to make his or her own progesterone, cutting off the maternal supply won't have any effect.

However, you are endangering your life. Those pills could kill you. The manufacturer of the second set of pills says that a pregnant woman should NEVER use them. They can cause contractions so severe they can rupture your uterus, they can cause you to bleed to death, and they can cause you to develop toxic shock syndrome. Toxic shock syndrome is caused by Clostridium sordellii, and it can kill a woman within hours. If you already have Clostridium sordellii in your body and you used the pills vaginally, you are at risk. Once symptoms begin, it is unlikely they can save your life. You should go get tested for this IMMEDIATELY.

You need to stop hurting yourself and find a decent doctor who can take care of you. Any kind of abortion is dangerous, and anybody who helps you get one is acting unethically. Nobody should provide these pills to you. It is unethical to do so, because of how harmful they are to the mother.

What are you facing in your life that would cause abortion to seem attractive? There are organizations all over the United States that can help you with your problems. They provide counseling, medical help, legal help if needed, clothing, supplies and furniture for a baby, and help with adoption if necessary. You really deserve better.

To find an organization near you, go to this web site:

http://www.pregnancycenters.org/

You really deserve to hear what they have to say and offer. Please go. They will give you the name of a doctor who can check you out and make sure you are OK, and their services are generally free.

Even if you manage to complete an abortion, you are at risk for breast cancer, and if you have close family members that have it, it is a virtual certainty you will get it. It strikes while a woman is young, and it kills 1/4 of its victims. Not only that, but there are many other problems you can experience if you complete an abortion. These include death from other causes, paralysis, coma, inability to speak, heart attack, sterility, problems with future children, including miscarriage, tubal pregnancy, very early birth (which causes cerebral palsy, autism, mental retardation, epilepsy, blindness, or deafness), problems with a future birth resulting in a need for Caesarian section to save your and the baby's life, infection, sexually transmitted disease, suicide, homicide (with you as the victim), drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia, self-abuse such as cutting, nightmares, breakup of your relationship, and the list just goes on and on. Please don't do anything further to harm yourself.

Please let me know how you do, and keep in touch.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your advice. If i choose to keep this baby, could happen?

Answer
Hello, shan,

You are very welcome.

Lots of things could happen. I don't pretend to be able to see into the future. However, given how far along you are, it is very unlikely the pills harmed your baby.

There are several possibilities. Your baby may not have been strong enough to begin with, and you might have a miscarriage (not caused by your attempt at abortion). You could give birth to your baby in a few months. If you go to your local organization, they will help meet your needs, the things that caused you to attempt abortion in the first place. If you complete your pregnancy, you will more protected from breast cancer than you would have been if you had no child. If you breastfeed, then the protection increases some more. You won't have to worry about having harmed your future children because you had an abortion (because you didn't have one). You are being given a second chance.

So please go, and let them recommend a doctor you can see, who can check you out.

I hope you will do this, because there is no sense in harming yourself, and abortion ALWAYS harms the mother, too. You deserve better, and there are definitely better answers. I hope and pray you are all right; please keep in touch and let me know how you are doing.