Expert: Pat G - 4/17/2011

Question
Hi I had a medical abortion around 3 weeks ago at nearly 9 weeks pregnant, ( i think they messed up the dates at the hospital i went to) it hasnt worked and the baby is very much alive and growing, i think i will now keep it and give it a chance the dr told me there was actually a 1 in 1000 chance of deformities and that the makers of these drugs will have you believe every baby will be deformed, of course it can happen but what i want is a few more expert opinions, do you think the baby will be badly harmed if it was at 9 weeks? i also take tegretol for  epilepys (not a high dose) but this can block other drugs or intensify them i wonder if that had anything to do with it, also when i went in for the abortion out of the 4 tablets i had inserted into my vagina 3 of them fell out around an hour and a half after, the nurse didnt even say that was a problem!
i bled a little had 4 blood clots then stopped bleeding pretty much with it very light for around 3 days.
is this baby alright????
many thanks in advance
sarah

Answer
Hello, sarah,

At 8 weeks, a woman's baby is completely formed. You were nearly nine weeks. I think every mother worries about whether her baby will have any problems or not. Nobody can guarantee that all babies will be born perfect. However, it is unlikely to impossible that your baby will have a deformity because of the pill abortion. Here's why.

Usually, pill abortions consist of two medications. The first acts by decreasing the mother's progesterol. Progesterol is needed to maintain the pregnancy, and keep the placenta functioning. However, by 7 weeks, many babies are already making enough progesterol of their own that the drug will not have any effect on the placenta. By 9 weeks, this would be true of all but a tiny handful of babies. The fact that your baby survived indicates that he or she was making sufficient progesterol. The second medication causes labor. Both medications can cause bleeding, sometimes profuse and life-threatening. Not only is your baby still alive, but you bled very little. So the likelihood that the pill abortion caused any damage is very small.

Tegretol tends to make birth control pills less effective. However, it wouldn't be the reason why the pill abortion didn't work. The fact that your baby is making progesterol is the reason. There is a small concern that Tegretol can harm an unborn baby, but in spite of that, it is said that the benefits may outweigh the risks. Tegretol is a Pregnancy Category D drug. Here is a description of the classification in the United States:

"Pregnancy Category D    There is positive evidence of human fetal risk based on adverse reaction data from investigational or marketing experience or studies in humans, but potential benefits may warrant use of the drug in pregnant women despite potential risks."

This is from Wikipedia.

To summarize: the risks from the pill abortion at 9 weeks with the baby surviving are infinitesimal. Nobody can guarantee that any baby will be without problems, so there is always a slight risk. Tegretol poses a slight risk, but it is not considered major. There may be natural methods for helping with your epilepsy. If you want, I can do some research on that. No guarantees, but sometimes these alternatives can be very powerful.

I hope this helps. Thank you for accepting your baby. I wish you all the best. Keep in touch, and take care of that precious baby!