Opting for an abortion is a decision a woman can take, considering whether she is ready or not for the birth of a child. Though, it is a personal decision, time and again the voice of the woman who wants to go for an abortion is suppressed not only by the father of the child, but by family and society for cultural, religious and many other irrelevant reasons. This has been one of the main explanations as to why women, especially from developing countries try home abortion methods putting their lives at risk.
No matter what kind of home abortion method is chosen by a woman; the procedure has high risk of ending in complications, which may at times endanger the life of the pregnant woman. It is always safe and advisable to get the baby clinically aborted, under medical supervision.
Home methods may end up in incomplete abortion, excessive bleeding, and severe infection which may lead to infertility in future. Despite the danger involved, some women seek these methods to find a quick relief from unwanted pregnancy even in developed countries.
Abortion Pill
With the introduction of RU-486 abortion pill, it has become one of the most sought after methods to end a pregnancy at home, even by women who are unaware of its complications, risk factors, and total effectiveness.
Vitamin C
High consumption of Vitamin C is known to increase the estrogen levels, while at the same time bringing down the levels of progesterone, thus creating hormonal imbalance. The falling level of progesterone, a hormone crucial for building and sustaining the uterine lining, leads to bleeding and abortion.
Some women are known to consume a nontoxic herb Parsley along with Vitamin C to accelerate the process. It is either taken orally by mixing it with some drink, or a stem or parsley is inserted inside the vagina to open the cervix. The ascorbic acid present in the stem is known to loosen the uterine wall and induce abortion.
Toxic Herb
Pennyroyal is a highly toxic herb which is consumed for inducing abortion by women. There are many incidences when the metabolite menthofuran present in the herb has proven fatal to women who have tried self abortion through it.
Papaya
Raw papaya has been used as a popular home abortion method in India since time unknown. Recently there has been scientific backing for the fact that raw papaya can cause abortion as it contains high amounts of prostaglandin and oxytocin which can cause abortion.
Trauma to the Womb
Some women are known to cause trauma to the womb for having an abortion, which, though dangerous has proven successful in some cases. The methods followed like receiving punches on the abdomen, exerting oneself by lifting heavy objects, or falling down hard on stomach are some of the barbaric ways of causing abortion through trauma. Unfortunately, these methods may lead to severe complications because of internal bleeding taking place due to injuries.
Abortifacients
Consumption of food like dried Henna powder, carrot seeds, pomegranate, mutton marrow, and other known abortifacients are also popularly followed by women to abort an unwanted pregnancy.
More gross methods of using coat hangers to remove the fetus by puncturing the sac with the hook were prevalent before 1950’s, but due to awareness about health risks of puncturing the internal organs among educated women now, this method is not heard of much.