Women being misled by claims abortion pain no worse than a bad period
Women are being told that the pain of abortion is no worse than period cramps. However, a new study finds that many disagree, and are instead having a far more debilitating experience.
What did the study find?
Researchers from the University of Oxford and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service found that, contrary to misleading information at medical appointments and in leaflets that 'downplayed' or 'sugar-coated' the process, women having abortions at home found having a termination to be much more painful than they anticipated.
Of the nearly 1,600 women surveyed between November 2021 and March 2022, mainly between the ages of 20-39, who took pills to induce an abortion:
About half (49%) said the pain they experienced was worse than expected;
Most (92%) gave their pain a score of at least four out of 10;
42% gave their pain a score of between eight and 10, classifying it as severe;
Two thirds of the respondents would still choose this type of abortion if they needed to in future, but 13% said they would opt for a surgical, in-clinic abortion instead, mostly due to the pain.
'Pain was so much stronger than period pain – it was like having contractions in labour,' one of the participants wrote. 'I've given birth three times and the pain really wasn't too much different from that pain, the cramping contraction pain.' Others similarly found 'the commonly used analogy to period pain misleading.'
A significant number of respondents said that descriptions of medical abortion pain as 'like a period,' or similar to 'a bad period,' 'period cramps' or 'period cramping' had directly influenced their expectations.
While one participant saw that being open about a termination's painful reality might 'put some women off,' they felt that 'patients have a right to fully understand the risks and benefits. This should be made absolutely transparent; shared and informed decision making is essential.'
Findings like these, which expose how women's pain is downplayed, come after a damning new report released last week by the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC), which found that women living with crippling health conditions like endometriosis, adenomyosis and heavy menstrual bleeding were routinely having their pain dismissed and symptoms normalised. The paper revealed the 'pervasive stigma' and, significantly, the 'medical misogyny' surrounding healthcare professionals' inability to address gynaecological conditions adequately.
What abortion options are there?
The decision to get an abortion is complex and sensitive. Consult your GP, the NHS website, or a trusted healthcare professional if you are considering this procedure.
Medical abortion is offered in the UK to women up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, while a surgical abortion is usually done after 10 weeks using a suction or forceps.
According to the NHS, a medical abortion involves taking two prescribed medicines, or abortion pills, called mifepristone and misoprostol, which are taken over a few days.
The introduction of a 'pills by post' system, where abortions can happen without a clinic visit, means terminations have hit record numbers. Earlier this year, there was a 17% rise in abortions in one year, with 251,377 abortions in England and Wales in 2022.
In the survey, one in three of the clients had pregnancies that were between eight and nine weeks and almost half (49%) had not given birth before.
What needs to be done?
'Benchmarking against period pain has long been used as a way to describe the pain associated with medical abortion, despite the wide variability of period pain experienced,' said lead author Hannah McCulloch, a researcher at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, in a statement.
'The results of the survey show that counselling on this aspect of medical abortion needs to improve. For many respondents, using period pain as a reference point for what to expect was not helpful for managing expectations, or in line with their experiences.
'Women want more detailed, realistic information to make choices about treatment and to be prepared for medical abortion if that is their preference. And medical abortion is a very safe and effective choice.'
More health stories:
'Women are being prosecuted for ending pregnancies. This must change'
'Trump's re-election will be devastating for reproductive rights worldwide'
Women who have miscarried are being reported to the police for suspected 'illegal' abortions
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