Before the surgical abortion can be carried out you need to have an vaginal ultrasound to determine how far along you are.

You need to buy pain relieving medication, so that you are ready to treat any pains, that might occur after the operation:

• Paracetamol (for example Pamol, Panodil, Pinex)
• Ibuprofen (for example Ibumetin, Brufen, Ipren)

The medications can be bought at any pharmacy and in most grocery stores.

We recommend that you in the following days after the operation take 2X500 mg Panodil with 2X200mg Ipren every 6 hours.

It is your own responsibility to plan transportation to the hospital and home again.

You are not allowed to drive a car for 24 hours after the operation, because you can still be under the influence of the anasthesia. Remember to arrange with someone, who can take you home.

It is important than someone can take you home as soon as you are ready after the operation.

• You may not drink milk or juice 6 hours before your appointment at the hospital
• You can drink water, tea and coffee without milk until 2 hours before your appointment at the hospital
• Drink 2 glasses of juice water 2 hours before your appointment at the hospital. The juice water counteracts nausea and discomfort before and after the operation.

Remember to follow the instructions from the staff, if you have diabetes.

Remenber:

• the last 2 hours before your appointment you mustn't consume anything. It applies also to smoking, e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco or snuff, and we also recommend not to chew chewing gum.
• It is important not to fast longer than necessary than recommended. If you fast too long, you might feel dehydrated and experience discomfort.

1 hour before you arrive at the hospital, you place 2 tablets of Cytotec as far up as possible into the vagina. You receive the medicine from us.

Rest in your bed for half an hour after you have placed the tablets. When you get up, the tablets might fall out of the vagina and that is normal. The mucous membrane have absorbed the medication it needs.

Cytotec tablets softens the cervix and can have side effects such as diarrhea, nausea, stomach pains and vaginal bleeding.

Make-up and nail polish or artificial nails are not allowed. It is important to be able to see if your skin or nails change colour during the operation.

Jewellery, piercings and contacts are not allowed. Leave jewellery and other valuables at home.

You will be fully sedated during the operation, so you won't feel anything.

A suction instrument is inserted through the vagina and up inside of the uterus. The uterus will be emptied by means of suction.

There is a risk of bleeding and infection in connection to the operation.

In very rare cases you may experience a perforation of the uterus. Most often it will heal by itself and will not give any complications after.
If this should happen, it might be necessary to perform a new operation to fix this.

You are ready to be discharged within a couple of hours.
You should expect to be mobilised shortly after the operation. This decreases the risk of complications. The staff will help you, if you need it.

You can feel dizziness and nausea the first times due to the anasthesia and pain medication.

If you are bleeding more than a heavy period or you get abdominal pain, you need to contact us - see contact information below.

• Vaginal bleeding up to 3-4 weeks after the operation. The bleeding must be decreasing during this time.
• Light abdominal pain the first days after the operation. You can take pain relieving medication if needed.

• bathtubs, swimming pools, swimming in lakes or the ocean.
• intercourse without condom
• tampons, menstrual cups

Abortion can be a big descision and for some a hard experience. It is normal to be both relieved, happy and sad. Some cry more easily. Some feel a psycical and psychologically emptiness. It is also normal to have decreased sex drive for a while.

You may feel the need to talk to family or a good friend about your situation and/or you can make an appointment with your general practitioner.
And remember that men and women can react differently, so maybe the man also needs support and someone to talk to.

It is also possible to contact Mødrehjælpen on phone number +45 3345 8640.

If your blood type is rhesus negative, you need to have an injection with Anti-D not more than 72 hours after the abortion. Anti-D prevents your body from forming antiboddies which can be harmful to a fetus in a future pregnancy.
If you need to have Anti-D, we will arrange it with you.

You can expect your next period to be delayed due to the abortion, so it is very important to use birth control.
Be aware that the ovulation happens before the period. This means that you can get pregnant again before your next period. It is important that you have decided your future contraception before the abortion.
The next period will typically be within 4-6 weeks after the operation.

• If you want to use birth control pills, you should take the first pill on the same day that you have the operation.
• If you want a IUD, your general practitioner can place it at the end of your period. Until then, use a condom. You can also bring the IUD and have it placed during the operation. Talk to the nurse about this.

It is not necassary to take a sick leave, but you should take it easy for a couple of days after the operation.

It is normal to feel nauseous, tension in the breasts, hot flashes and be tired because of the pregnancy hormones, that hasn't left the body yet. The symptoms should be descreasing. If they don't, you need to call your general practioner.

It can be due to vaginal bleeding, pains or questions about the abortion.

The first 24 hours you can contact Ward of Women's diseases. Afterward you can contact your general practitioner or emergency health service.

• experience heavy vaginal bleeding a week after the abortion.
• experience symptoms of pelvic infection such as fever, foul-smelling vaginal discharge or bleeding.
• wishes to get more information about contraception (your general practioner)