If You Change Your Mind Partway Through a Medication Abortion

It's OK to change your mind after you start the pills. What you do next depends on which pills you have taken. First, reach out to us. Our care team can help you figure out where you are.

Bottom line: go get prenatal care

If you want to keep the pregnancy, the most important step is to start prenatal care soon. Book an appointment with a doctor or midwife.

It's your choice whether to tell your new doctor that you took the pills. No drug test can find mifepristone or misoprostol — see our full guide on detection. Some doctors like to know your full history. Other patients choose not to say. Both choices are fine.

If you only took mifepristone (and aren't bleeding yet)

• Do not take the misoprostol. This is the most important step.
• With only mifepristone, about 30 to 50 out of every 100 pregnancies keep going. No one can promise how it will turn out.
• Reach out to us. We can support you and help with next steps.
• If the pregnancy keeps going, start prenatal care soon. Studies have not found that mifepristone causes birth defects in pregnancies that keep going. But we don't have a lot of research on this yet.

If you already took the misoprostol

Once misoprostol starts working, you can't stop it. The safest thing to do now is let the process finish. Watch for bleeding and cramps. Stay in touch with us. Take a follow-up pregnancy test when we tell you to. If something doesn't feel right — a lot of bleeding, fever, or bad pain — call us or go to the ER.

About "abortion pill reversal"

You may have seen websites that talk about "abortion pill reversal." They give people a lot of progesterone after mifepristone.

We do not recommend this treatment. We believe it is dangerous. Here's why:

• Major medical groups — like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) — do not support this treatment. ACOG says it is not proven to work.
• The only careful study on it was stopped early because some people had heavy, dangerous bleeding.
• Some people who try this treatment keep their pregnancy. But that might just be because not taking the misoprostol — on its own — lets 30 to 50 out of every 100 pregnancies keep going. No progesterone needed.

We do not offer this treatment at Roxy Clinic, and we do not recommend it. The most important thing to do if you change your mind after mifepristone is to not take the misoprostol. The one exception is if you're already bleeding — then taking it is safer (see above). If you still want to learn more about "reversal," we can talk through the evidence with you.

This is not a failure

Choices about pregnancy are personal. They are not always clear or simple. Feeling unsure — before, during, or after — is human. Our job is to help you go in the direction you really want. We won't judge you for how you got here.

What to do right now

1. Call us or send us a message through your portal. We can help you figure out where you are.
2. If you already started bleeding after mifepristone, take the misoprostol.
3. If you have not taken the misoprostol and are not bleeding, do not take it.
4. If you want to keep the pregnancy, start prenatal care soon. Telling your new doctor about the pills is your choice.

This article is for information only. It does not replace medical advice. If you have an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest ER.