Methotrexate and Misoprostol for Abortion

A medical abortion with methotrexate and misoprostol is effective in over 90 out of 100 cases. Medical abortions can be done through 9 weeks of pregnancy. And when completed before 7 weeks, injected methotrexate is effective in 92 to 96 out of 100 cases.^{Reference 1}

Misoprostol can be given orally, buccally (dissolved between the gums and cheek), or vaginally. Many doctors are only giving misoprostol by mouth because of reports of a rare, fatal infection that affected a few women after using vaginal misoprostol. Experts do not know for sure if these deaths were related to the use of vaginal misoprostol.^{Reference 2}

Methotrexate and misoprostol can take up to 4 weeks to be effective, which is longer than other abortion methods.^{Reference 1}

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