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Abortion - Reasons Women Choose Abortion
In the United States, about 6 million women become pregnant per year.2
Each year, nearly 1.2 million American women have an abortion to end a pregnancy.3
The most common reasons women consider abortion are:
- Birth control (contraceptive) failure. Over half of all women who have an abortion used a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant.3
- Inability to support or care for a child.
- To end an unwanted pregnancy.
- To prevent the birth of a child with birth defects or severe medical problems. Such defects are often unknown until routine second-trimester tests are done.
- Pregnancy resulting from rape or incest.
- Physical or mental conditions that endanger the woman's health if the pregnancy is continued.
In the United States, 9 out of 10 abortions are performed in the first 12 weeks (first trimester) of pregnancy. Most of these are done within the first 9 weeks of pregnancy.3
Very few abortions are done after 16 weeks of pregnancy. But some women have to delay abortions because they have trouble with paying for, finding, or traveling to an abortion specialist.
Illegal abortion
Some states have legal restrictions on abortion. Many states require women to wait 24 hours or longer after a first informational appointment. Contact your closest Planned Parenthood or other family planning clinic for more information about restrictions in your state and neighboring states.
An abortion performed without professional medical care (illegally) has a much greater risk of complications than one performed legally with good medical care.
Teen pregnancy
About 30% of pregnant teens choose to have an abortion.4 About 60% of women under age 18 who have an abortion have a parent who knows of the abortion, and the majority of these parents support their daughters' decisions.4 (In the United States, some states require a parent's consent for women under the age of 18 before they can have an abortion. But in these states a minor has the right to seek a court order allowing an abortion without a parent's consent. For more information, contact your closest Planned Parenthood or other family planning clinic.)
The most common reasons that teens and young women choose to have an abortion include:4
- Awareness that they are not mature enough to have children.
- Knowledge that they are financially not able to support or care for children.
- Concern that having a baby would change their lives and compromise their (and a child's) future. Many young mothers don't ever manage to get the education and employment necessary to raise their children above the poverty line.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
Abortion Topics
ENABLEX is a prescription medicine used in adults to treat the following symptoms due to a condition called overactive bladder:
- · having a strong need to go to the bathroom right away (also called "urgency")
- · leaks or wetting accidents (also called "urinary incontinence")
- · having to go to the bathroom too often (also called "urinary frequency")
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
You should not take once-daily ENABLEX if you have certain types of stomach problems, glaucoma, or have trouble emptying your bladder. Side effects of ENBLEX include blurred vision, and more commonly dry mouth, constipation, indigestion, and abdominal pain. Use caution when doing certain activities until you know how ENBALEX affects you.
VIVELLE-DOT (estradiol transdermal system) IS AVAILABLE BY PRESCRPTION ONLY.
INDICATION
Vivelle-Dot is used after menopause to: reduce moderate to severe hot flashes; treat moderate to severe dryness, itching and burning in or around the vagina; help reduce your chances of getting osteoporosis (thin weak bones); and treat certain conditions in which a young woman's ovaries do not produce enough estrogens naturally. Vivelle-Dot 0.025 mg/day is only used to prevent osteoporosis from menopause. If you use Vivelle-Dot only to treat your dryness, itching, and burning in and around your vagina or if you use Vivelle-Dot only to prevent osteoporosis from menopause, talk with your healthcare professional about whether a different treatment or medicine without estrogens might be better for you.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Estrogens increase the chances of getting cancer of the uterus (womb). Report any unusual vaginal bleeding right away while you are taking estrogens. Vaginal bleeding after menopause may be a warning sign of cancer of the uterus (womb).
Do not use estrogens with or without progestins to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, or strokes. Using estrogens with or without progestins may increase your chances of getting heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer, and blood clots. Using estrogens with progestins may increase your risk of dementia (decline in memory and thinking skills).
Vivelle-Dot should not be used if you have unusual vaginal bleeding; currently have or have had certain cancers, including cancer of the breast or uterus; had a stroke or heart attack in the recent past (for example, in the past year); currently have or have had blood clots; currently have or have had liver problems; or think you may be, or know that you are, pregnant.
The most common side effects that may occur with Vivelle-Dot are headache, breast tenderness, and back pain.
You and your healthcare professional should talk regularly about whether you still need treatment with Vivelle-Dot.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please see Full Prescribing Information for Vivelle-Dot.
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