An island of liberties
Box 10. Information provided to women having a vacuum aspiration Normal post-procedure side effects: • Light bleeding for a few days and spotting for a few weeks. • Light abdominal pain • Potential, extremely rare complications: • Hemorrhage • Infection Warning signs: • Fever (over 38 C°) or chills • Very heavy bleeding (soaking through more than two maxi pads in one hour, during two consecutive hours). • Intense abdominal pain • Unpleasant smelling vaginal discharge Other instructions: • Eat light meals, drink two liters of water a day, and avoid heavy physical activity for a few days. • Abstain from sexual intercourse, tampon use, and swimming pool visits for 30 to 40 days • Have a daily bath. • Take the antibiotic medication as instructed.
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Information session for accompanying persons
In order to reduce the anxiety among people accompanying women for an abortion procedure (usually partners, mothers, sisters, and friends), social workers provide an informative session for them twice a day while they wait. They provide information on the abortion procedure, contraceptive options, and other sexual and reproductive health issues. •
The procedure and follow-up
After the counseling session, women who are eligible to continue with the medical abortion procedure are instructed to take the mifepristone tablet in the health center. They are provided with a dose of misoprostol 68