Medication for Abortion — What if Pregnancy Continues?

Major malformations after first-trimester exposure to mifepristone are relatively rare.

Mifepristone combined with misoprostol is highly effective in inducing abortion at up to 10 weeks' gestation (JW Womens Health Nov 29 2012). In clinical trials, pregnancies continued in only 1% of women who used this regimen before 8 weeks' gestation. Whether such pregnancies carry excess risk for fetal malformations remains a source of concern.

Between 1997 and 2010, French investigators studied the outcomes of 46 pregnancies that continued after exposure to mifepristone alone and 59 after exposure to both mifepristone and misoprostol before 13 weeks' gestation. Rates of major congenital malformations among continuing pregnancies were similar in both groups. The overall rate was 4.2%, only slightly higher than that expected in the general p…

Reviewing Author

Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, MD, MS

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardPlanned Parenthood Federation of America

Grant/Research SupportSociety of Family Planning; California Department of Public Health Tobacco Control Program

Editorial BoardsContraception; Journal of General Internal Medicine

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCouncil Member, Society of General Internal Medicine