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Many people take abortion pills when they are very early in their pregnancy, or less than 6 weeks pregnant. This experience might look different than one might expect!

You may read stories online about other people having very heavy bleeding, passing large clots, and having a lot of pain during their abortion. And if your experience doesn’t match that, it’s normal to be concerned it didn’t work

In reality, there is a wide range of normal experiences after taking abortion pills. Some people have heavier bleeding and some people have lighter bleeding. Every abortion experience is different.

We want you to understand the range of possible experiences so you can feel confident assessing if your abortion was successful!

What should I know about taking the pills before 6 weeks?

Abortion pills are very effective early in pregnancy.

Even early in pregnancy, abortion pills are still very effective in ending pregnancy. Some people may choose to wait until 6 weeks to take the pills based on some indications that the pills may be slightly more effective after that point. Some people may choose to take the pills earlier and not wait. Since both options are medically safe and effective, it’s up to you when to take the pills.

There are two medication abortion methods: the mifepristone + misoprostol regimen and the misoprostol-only method - both are medically safe and effective. You can check out the M+A Hotline’s protocol for both here.

You may not bleed as much as you expected to.

Before 6 weeks, the pregnancy is quite small. The gestational sac is smaller than a piece of Skittles candy. Because there can be less tissue in the uterus, there can be less bleeding, fewer clots, smaller clots, or no clots. It’s possible to only have ½ a pad-2 pads worth of blood and/or pass 1 single clot for the entire process and still have a successful abortion.

How do I know if it worked?

If your pregnancy symptoms go away within 1-2 weeks of taking the pills, this is a good sign that the pills worked. Fore more info on how to know they worked, check out this article.

If you’re unsure or have questions, you can always reach out to your provider or a provider at the M+A Hotline to talk through your options! Call or text 833-246-2632.

Rarely, having little or no bleeding after taking abortion pills can be a sign of ectopic pregnancy

An ectopic pregnancy (outside of the uterus) happens in less than 2% of all pregnancies. If it ruptures, it can be life-threatening. Abortion pills do not work to end ectopic pregnancies, but they do not cause an ectopic pregnancy to rupture.

If you think you’re pregnant and have extreme pelvic pain (especially on one side), bruising or swelling in the belly, dizziness, lightheadedness, or shoulder pain, these are signs of potential ruptured ectopic pregnancy, and you should go to the ER right away. If you go to get checked out, you never have to tell anyone that you took abortion pills.

We’ve tried to provide an overview of what to expect, but really your experience may vary. That’s why it can be helpful to read other people’s personal experiences. To help, here are some stories from people who got abortions before 6 weeks -

What It’s Like To Have An Abortion At Home

What a Medical Abortion Actually Feels LIke

Demystifying Medication Abortion (video)

r/abortion: Medication abortion at 6 weeks, it was okay

r/ Abortion experience at 6 weeks

r/ My Medical Abortion Experience (4 week pregnant)

For more abortion stories, tagged by type of abortions, locations, demographics, feelings and more - check out ineedana.com/stories.