Can I have an abortion at 18 weeks of pregnancy?

Abortion can be divided into two types: natural abortion and induced abortion. Generally, the latter is voluntary. In addition to not wanting a child, some people find that the fetus has acute or certain serious diseases during development, and they also need to terminate the pregnancy by abortion. However, abortion has a time limit, and the methods of abortion are different at different times. So, is it possible to have an abortion at 18 weeks of pregnancy? Let’s take a closer look below.

At 18 weeks of pregnancy, the fetus has basically taken shape, with a length of about 18 cm, a crown-to-rump length of 12 cm, and a weight of about 1,100 grams. The scalp has grown and the hair has begun to show respiratory movements, and some pregnant women can feel fetal movements. Artificial abortion is the termination of intrauterine pregnancy within 10 weeks. According to the situation you described, you are already 18 weeks pregnant, so you cannot have an artificial abortion. If there are no contraindications to the surgery, you can have induced labor.

The best time for abortion is generally before 9 weeks of pregnancy. However, to finally determine how long you can have an abortion, you also need to refer to some preoperative examination results. However, if the embryo is too large, or even has grown bones, it cannot be sucked out with the largest straw. In this case, you can only be hospitalized and induce labor with drugs or water bags, and then have the uterus cleaned after the embryo and most of the placenta are expelled.

If induction of labor fails, curettage is needed, which is to use an instrument to directly scrape the embryo and placenta out of the uterus. This operation is risky and can easily cause cervical injury and increased bleeding during the operation. It also increases the risk of infection, uterine injury, and postoperative intrauterine adhesions. Therefore, if you plan to terminate an unexpected pregnancy, try to do it within 2 months of pregnancy.

The best time to induce labor

Induced labor refers to the method of ending pregnancy by artificial means after 12 weeks of pregnancy, so of course the earlier the pregnancy is ended, the better. The earlier the month and the longer the time, the greater the damage to the pregnant woman's uterus. Generally, 12 to 24 weeks is considered mid-term induced labor, and the fetus has already been formed at this time. If induced labor is to be performed, the uterus must be expanded, which can easily damage the uterine wall and make induced labor more difficult than in the early stages, so early induced labor surgery should be performed as soon as possible.