Pregnant people who took the first dose of misoprostol (a pill given as part of the procedure for medical abortions) at home had a 71% chance of completing their care in hospital within 9 hours with no overnight stay when having an abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy, compared to 46% of those who took the first dose of misoprostol at hospital, finds a randomized controlled trial published in The Lancet . A medical abortion (also known as abortion with pills) involves taking two types of pills to end a pregnancy: mifepristone, which blocks the hormone progesterone therefore causing the lining of the uterus to break down, and misoprostol, which makes the womb contract. For abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, mifepristone is often given at a clinic to which the patient returns one to two days later to receive a first dose of misoprostol followed by additional doses of misoprostol every few hours until the abortion is complete.
In this trial, all patients received the first dose of mifepristone in the clinic as usual, but some patients then took the first dose of misoprostol at home. Previous studies indicate that most medical abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy are completed within eight to 12 hours after the first misoprostol dose and require an average of two to three misoprostol doses, with some patients needing to stay overnight in hospital. Currently, most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy take place in hospitals and may require an overnight stay, which some women.