Unwanted Pregnancy and Inducing a Miscarriage

Every day, numerous people turn to the internet for information on how to induce or force a miscarriage. In the toughest of circumstances, it can be tempting to want to take matters into your own hands. However, doing so is incredibly dangerous for your health and is never recommended unless supervised by a medical professional.

Ending an Unwanted Pregnancy

If you are researching how to induce a miscarriage because you have an unwanted pregnancy, please do not risk your health by attempting unsafe methods of ending your pregnancy. Research your options for handling an unplanned pregnancy and find someone who can help you handle the situation safely.

There are numerous resources out there, as well as support resources for those without friends and family who can help. If you have decided to end your pregnancy, rather than search for ways to end your pregnancy yourself, look for local women's clinics or a nearby Planned Parenthood. If you state has placed strict restrictions on abortion, you may have to travel beyond state lines for care. 

Inducing a miscarriage on your own is never a good idea. By trying to induce your own miscarriage, you are not only risking the life of the fetus but your own life as well. Taking foreign pills or overdosing on supplements is dangerous to your health and can have both long- and short-term risks. Procedures performed by those other than a licensed medical professional can also jeopardize your future reproductive health.

There is no safe and reliable way to induce a miscarriage without the involvement of a doctor. In dire situations, it may be tempting to follow any "advice" you may see floating around the Internet. However, these seemingly "helpful tips," are not recommended by medical professionals.

Speeding Up Miscarriage to Avoid Dilation and Curettage (D&C)

If you have been diagnosed with a missed miscarriage or blighted ovum, you may be researching inducing miscarriage in order to avoid a dilation and curettage (D&C), a procedure which removes tissue from your uterus. Unfortunately, there is no safe way to speed up a miscarriage on your own. As mentioned above, there is no safe way to induce your own miscarriage, even if it is inevitable that you are going to miscarry.

If your situation involves a missed miscarriage, talk to your doctor about whether you might be able to use a drug like misoprostol to expedite the miscarriage. If you had a silent miscarriage, your body will need time to naturally expel the tissue. How much time it needs will vary from person to person. If the miscarriage was early in your pregnancy, it might take less time than if the miscarriage occurred later.

Drugs like misoprostol can help you avoid a D&C as well as avoid waiting for bleeding to begin. Misoprostol should only be used under a physician's supervision due to the risk of heavy bleeding and other side effects. It is not safe to order any of these drugs online or purchase them from nonmedical sources.

A Word From Verywell

Many people experience feelings of ambivalence when faced with an unplanned pregnancy. If you decide to terminate your pregnancy, you should only do so under the guidance of a healthcare professional. Trying to induce a miscarriage without medical guidance can be dangerous to your health.