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First Trimester Surgical Abortion

Available up to 12 weeks

A first trimester abortion, or a D&C, is performed in the first three months of pregnancy. The procedure is two steps, first the physician will stretch open the cervix a little bit, usually less than the size of your thumb, and then a gentle suction is used to empty the uterus. This suction procedure is very common, safe and short, normally 5 – 7 minutes. We offer sedation or local anesthesia with this procedure.

The fee for this procedure includes pregnancy testing, admitting, pre-operative history and physical, ultrasound, lab work, the D&C procedure, RhoGAM or MicRhoGAM (if required), medications given on the day of the procedure, post-operative medications and your post-operative care as authorized by our medical staff.

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The Process

What To Expect

Pre-Procedure

  • Complete paperwork
  • Vital signs and basic blood testing
  • Physical exam and ultrasound
  • Ask questions / sign consent forms

When you arrive at the office, you will be asked to complete some paperwork. Many of these forms are available on this website. You can complete them, print them and bring them to your visit if you prefer.

Your vital signs will be taken and we will collect a small sample of your blood for testing. A clinician will review your medical history and perform a physical examination, including an ultrasound. They will discuss birth control options with you as well.

An admissions staff member will explain the procedure and assist you in completing additional paperwork. The admissions staff member will escort you to a private area where you will change into a gown that we provide. If you have chosen to stay awake for surgery with local anesthesia, the clinician will numb the cervical area with injections of a local anesthetic. A medical assistant will escort you to the surgical suite. If you have chosen to be asleep for the procedure, you will have an IV placed in your hand or arm in most cases.

Procedure

  • IV is started for sedation or local anesthetic injections, if you will be awake for the procedure
  • Procedure is 5-7 minutes in most cases, performed by the physician

You will be in the procedure suite for about 10-15 minutes. A licensed CRNA (certified registered nurse anesthetist) will administer sedation and a licensed medical doctor will perform the abortion by gently removing the contents of the uterus using vacuum aspiration.

Patients who are asleep for the procedure will not feel any cramping or discomfort. Patients who are awake for the procedure should expect to feel strong cramping and discomfort for about 5-7 minutes during the procedure.

Recovery

  • Rest for 30-60 minutes
  • A nurse will monitor your bleeding and cramping
  • You will have a light snack
  • Receive discharge medication and instructions

You will be taken to the recovery room after the procedure is complete. Trained medical personnel, including nurses and medical assistants will care for you until you are ready to be discharged. Most patients spend about 30-60 minutes resting in the recovery room. We have tablets that you can use to listen to music or watch a video in our second stage recovery area.

After you leave the recovery room, we will offer you a light snack. Our staff will explain your post-operative care and medications.

FPA has a designated 24-hour emergency number. We encourage you to call with any questions or to discuss any concerns you might have after your visit. You are welcome to return for a free follow-up visit in 2 – 3 weeks, or sooner if needed.

How to Prepare for Your Visit

  • Do not eat, drink or smoke after midnight before your visit. This includes gum, candy, water, and any kind of food or drink.
  • Plan to spend 3 to 5 hours at the office.
  • Make sure that you have a reliable ride home from the office. If you cannot make arrangements for a ride home after the procedure, you may use a cab or a ride-share car service after an extended recovery period. You will not be able to drive or take public transportation home by yourself.
  • Do not wear jewelry. All facial piercing jewelry must be removed. If you are going to be sedated for surgery, you may not have any piercings in the nose or mouth.
  • Please note that we cannot accommodate children or guests in of our office at this time. This includes waiting areas. Your guest can wait in the car, or we can give you a listing of public places near the clinic where they can wait for you.

Aftercare

After you are discharged, you should go home and rest. You may eat and drink normally. If you have nausea or vomiting, we recommend eating something light such as rice, soup or toast.

You are able to go back to work or school the next day, unless the doctor has provided you special instructions. We can provide a confidential doctor’s excuse if needed.

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Abortion is safe, legal and available for everyone at FPA in Illinois. Please do not delay your care for financial reasons. Contact us today — We can help you access funds for both abortion care and transportation immediately. You can trust FPA, we’re here to support you every step of the way.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Local anesthesia is a cervical block (injection of numbing medication) performed before your surgery. While your cervix will be numbed, you will be awake during the procedure and it is normal to feel some strong cramping and discomfort.

Sedation is administered intravenously through an IV placed in your hand or arm in most cases. If you are sedated for your procedure, you will not feel or remember any pain or discomfort.

If you have chosen to have sedation, you will not feel or remember any pain during your procedure. After the procedure you may experience mild to moderate cramping, if needed we will give you pain medication.

If you have chosen to have local anesthesia with your procedure, we will numb your cervix but you will feel some cramping, pain and pressure from the uterus. Some patients describe the pain as minimal while some patients find the pain to be more severe. You will be offered pain medication, and in some cases we can provide you a medication to help you feel more relaxed.

Once you are discharged, in most cases ibuprofen (Motrin/Advil), naproxen (Aleve) or acetaminophen (Tylenol/Midol) will help with the cramping. If the cramping is not helped by these over the counter medications, you should call us immediately.

FPA is the only outpatient clinic that offers full sleep sedation with propofol, provided by a CRNA. You will be completely unaware for about 5-10 minutes with a first trimester abortion, or about 10-20 minutes with a second trimester abortion. The medications used for sedation work very quickly and wear off very quickly as well. Most patients are awake and alert within 5 minutes of their procedure.

The sedation that we offer is safe, effective and short-acting. You will be asleep for 5-20 minutes depending on the procedure. There is always some degree of risk with any surgery. Serious complications with sedation are very rare in our facilities. Complications may occur if a patient has ingested any food or liquid within 8 hours of surgery. Tell our staff if you have had prior complications with anesthesia or if you have had anything to eat or drink within 8 hours prior to your surgery, including gum and water.

In most cases, the patient experiences bleeding for up to 2 to 3 weeks after the abortion procedure. However, some patients do not experience any bleeding and other patients have spotting or bleeding off and on. If you have any questions about what is normal after your procedure, you can always call the office and speak with a medical staff member. A 24-hour on-call service is available after hours, in case of an emergency.

The first trimester abortion is a simple procedure performed by aspiration (suction). This procedure is referred to as a D&C (Dilation and Curettage). This procedure generally takes about 3 to 5 minutes.

If you are over 12 weeks pregnant, you will first have your cervix prepared and dilated with medication and/or sterile product made specifically for cervical dilation (laminaria dilators). This procedure is referred to as a D&E (Dilation and Extraction) and lasts 1 to 3 days. In some cases, a patient will require one or two consecutive days of dilation and will return for the procedure on the second or third day. The dilation procedure takes just a few minutes, and you will be in the clinic for a few hours on the day or days that your cervix is being dilated. In some cases, we can administer a medication on the morning of your procedure that will help to soften and dilate the cervix, this can eliminate the need for insertion of laminaria dilators and a multiple day preparation process.

Most of our patients return to work or school the day after their procedure. Please let our staff know if you need a confidential note to excuse you from work or school for the day of your procedure and any recovery time that may be needed. The admitting and medical staff will explain the DOs and DON’Ts after an in office abortion procedure.

Your support person will not be able to join you during the medical parts of the visit, including the exam rooms and recovery room. We must protect the privacy of all of our patients, and for that reason we cannot allow guest in these areas.

Currently, we are unable to accommodate guests in the clinic, including waiting areas. If you need your guest to translate for you or you are a minor, please let our staff know when you arrive at the clinic and we will accommodate to the best of our ability. This is not a decision we take lightly, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. At this time, we must put the safety and privacy of all of our staff and employees first.

When bleeding has been light for 24 hours, you may have intercourse, if you feel emotionally and physically ready. You are the best judge of your feelings.

You should use contraception when you are sexually active, if you wish to avoid pregnancy. You can become pregnant again right away after having an abortion.

Taking public transportation after an in-office abortion procedure is not recommended. You may take use a cab or ride-share service for transportation after the procedure.

When bleeding has been light for 24 hours, you may use a tampon.

In most cases, an in-office abortion procedure is nearly 100% effective. In less than 0.3% of cases, a pregnancy is not terminated on the first attempt. Such a failure is most common in pregnancies of less than six weeks’ duration. A very small percentage of patients who have an in-office abortion procedure will require a re-aspiration, or another aspiration of the uterus, if unusual bleeding occurs or if there is retained pregnancy tissue.

Most patients feel very ‘normal’ when they leave the office after having an abortion. You will probably be hungry and maybe a little more tired than normal. We recommend that you have a full meal and then take it easy for the rest of the day. It is normal to experience some mild to moderate cramping. If the cramping is not helped by over the counter medications such as Tylenol, Advil or Aleve we ask that you call our 24-hour emergency number. The bleeding is usually comparable to a normal period and some patients do not have any bleeding at all. If at any point you soak one full maxi-pad in an hour or less, you should call us immediately.

If you have had pregnancy symptoms such as nausea, fatigue or breast tenderness, these symptoms will start to go away within a few days of the procedure. If you still ‘feel pregnant’ after a few days, you should call us right away.

You may take a shower or tub bath after your procedure. Do not douche. When bleeding has been light for 24 hours, you may use a tampon. Avoid any products that contain aspirin or alcohol as they can promote heavier bleeding.

When sedation is provided, gag reflexes are temporarily suppressed. If food or liquid remain in the stomach, vomiting can occur, resulting in asphyxiation (choking). This can cause serious complications and in very rare cases death. Please inform our staff if you have had anything at all to eat or drink on the day of your procedure.

Yes. All of our doctors are licensed by the State of Illinois, are board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and specialize in pregnancy termination.

In most cases, an in-office abortion procedure is nearly 100% effective. In less than 0.3% of cases, a pregnancy is not terminated on the first attempt. Our physicians at FPA are very thorough and take multiple steps to ensure that the abortion procedure is complete. First, the physician will examine the pregnancy tissue after the procedure. Second, a post-operative ultrasound can be performed at the request of the physician to ensure that the uterus is empty.

In some cases, if you are very early in the pregnancy, we may draw blood on the day of your procedure for a Beta hCG pregnancy test, which measures the level of pregnancy hormones in your blood. We will then ask you to have another blood draw for a second Beta hCG test at FPA or a lab that is convenient for you, usually two days later. We can then compare the hormone levels and make sure that they are falling at the appropriate rate, to ensure that the procedure is successful.

Most often, you can go back to your regular activities the day after your procedure. Strenuous exercise can sometimes increase the amount of bleeding and cramping that you experience. If you notice an increase in your bleeding or cramping after exercising, you may want to decrease your activity for a few days. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. If at any point you fully soak a maxi-pad in one hour or less, after your procedure, you should call us right away.

Abortion Care Resources

Referral Resources

Family Planning Associates is happy to offer referral resources for our patients and their allies.

Frequently Asked Questions

It is normal to have questions, and it can be difficult to find unbiased information about abortion on the internet.

Registration Forms

You can complete your registration forms before you arrive. Simply download, print and fill out the forms. 

Why Choose Us?

We serve Chicago, Illinois & the entire Chicagoland Area and are honored to accept patients from Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama and Iowa. We see patients from all over the US every day in our Chicago abortion clinic.

FPA offices are modern, professional and designed with your comfort in mind. If there is anything we can do to help make you feel more comfortable while under our care, please ask. We may not be able to accommodate all requests, but we will always try our best.

At FPA, we are truly pro-choice and we support all pregnancy options – not just abortion. We offer referrals for prenatal care, adoption, and counseling so you can fully explore your options, and make the best choice for you. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us by phone, e-mail or through our live chat service.

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