Do Abortions Hurt? What To Expect With The Pill Or In-Clinic Surgery

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Abortion Care

Do Medication or Procedural Abortions Hurt?

Medically reviewed by Stacy A. Henigsman, DO — Written by Ann Pietrangelo — Updated on July 10, 2025

Medication
Procedural
Potential risks
Emotional impact
Takeaway

The short answer is that it’s different for everyone. No one can tell you exactly how it will feel. Some people compare the process to menstrual cramps, while others report more discomfort.

Whether it hurts depends on several unique factors, such as:

your overall health, including underlying medical conditions
your general pain tolerance
your emotions and stress level

What you might feel during an abortion also depends on the type of abortion you have.

What does it feel like to have a medication abortion?

Medication abortion is used during the first trimester.

The medication causes uterine contractions to push the pregnancy tissue out. It can take 4 or 5 hours for tissue to be expelled.

This process causes vaginal bleeding somewhat heavier than what’s considered a typical period, so you’ll need a good supply of pads. A medication abortion can be painful, especially for people with a history of painful and heavy menstrual cycles.

You’ll also pass some rather large clots. This will slow down after a few days, but you may continue to bleed or spot for a couple of weeks.

Side effects

Medicated abortion may cause:

mild to severe cramping
headache
breast tenderness
upset stomach
nausea
vomiting
low grade fever
chills
diarrhea
dizziness
fatigue

These side effects usually clear up in 1 to 2 days. Vaginal, buccal, or sublingual medications may have fewer side effects than oral medications.

How to minimize pain

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the most severe pain may occur about 2.5 to 4 hours after taking misoprostol and last about 1 hour.

Talk with your healthcare professional about taking an over-the-counter (OTC) medication beforehand, such as ibuprofen. This may help reduce your risk of cramping. You should not take aspirin because it can increase bleeding.

If you tend to get nauseous, you should also ask about anti-nausea medication. Your healthcare professional may advise you to take this beforehand or wait until you begin experiencing symptoms.

They may also prescribe stronger pain medication or other medications to help relieve discomfort.

You may also find it helpful to:

Try and schedule the process on a day you can stay at home.
Wear loose clothing for the first couple of days.
Use a heating pad or hot water bottle on your abdomen to help relieve cramping.
Use pillows to prop yourself up in a comfortable position.
Try deep breathing exercises.
Take a long, warm shower.
Ask someone to rub your back.

What does it feel like to have a procedural abortion?

Procedural abortion starts out similarly to a pelvic exam. Your healthcare professional will ask you to rest your feet in the table’s stirrups and use a speculum to inspect your vagina and cervix.

After that, they’ll apply numbing medication and dilate your cervix. Then, they’ll insert a small, flexible tube into your uterus. The tube is attached to a gentle suction device, which is used to empty the contents of your uterus.

Your doctor may also gently scrape the inside of your uterus with a small, loop-shaped tool. This is called curettage, or more commonly, dilation and curettage (D&C), and it ensures that your uterus is completely empty.

If the pregnancy is more than 15 weeks along, your healthcare professional will use a combination of suction, curettage, and extraction with forceps to completely empty the uterus.

Side effects

You may start to feel uterine cramping and experience bleeding right away. Spotting may continue for several weeks.

Other potential side effects include:

nausea
vomiting
fever
chills
dizziness

How to minimize pain

Most healthcare professionals will administer local anesthesia before performing a surgical abortion. You may also be instructed to take pain medication prior.

You can request to be sedated. Your provider can give you a mild dose of general anesthesia (“twilight sedation”) or an oral sedative to help block pain and reduce anxiety.

You’ll remain conscious during the procedure but won’t remember what happened. You’ll feel “out of it” until the anesthesia wears off, so you’ll need someone to drive you home afterward.

After the procedure

You can take OTC medications like ibuprofen to help ease your symptoms. As with a medication abortion, avoid aspirin, as it may increase post-abortion bleeding.

You can also apply a heating pad or hot water bottle to your abdomen to ease cramping. Wearing loose clothing for the first few days can also minimize the pressure on your abdomen.

Are there any other physical risks to consider?

Any medical procedure comes with some risk. For abortion, the risks include:

infection
prolonged or severe bleeding
incomplete medicated abortion requiring further intervention
unplanned pregnancy and potential coping if a medical abortion doesn’t work

However, when properly conducted by medical professionals, abortion is usually very safe. In fact, legal induced abortion has a mortality rate of only 0.7 per 100,000 procedures overall.

An uncomplicated abortion will not affect your ability to get pregnant again. In fact, pregnancy can happen right away.

Are emotional side effects possible?

The emotional aspects of having an abortion are different for everyone. A lot depends on your reasons for having the procedure, what stressors may have been involved, and whether you have a solid support system.

You may feel relieved, grateful, and quickly ready to move on. Or you may feel sadness, guilt, or a sense of loss. You might even have a mixture of all these feelings. There is no right or wrong way to feel.

If you’re experiencing negative emotions that are interfering with your daily life, you may find it helpful to consult a mental health professional. They can help you healthily work through your emotions.

The bottom line

Having an abortion and deciding which type can be a big decision, so getting the information you need upfront is important.

Remember, abortion laws vary depending on where you live. The Center for Reproductive Rights can tell you what the law on abortion is in your state.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Complications of an abortion. (2024).https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/abortion/risks/
Hastie R, et al. (2020). Aspirin use during pregnancy and the risk of bleeding complications: A Swedish population-based cohort study.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32687818/
Kemppainen V, et al. (2020). Pain during medical abortion in early pregnancy in teenage and adult women.https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/aogs.13920
Medication abortion up to 70 days of gestation. (2023).https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/practice-bulletin/articles/2020/10/medication-abortion-up-to-70-days-of-gestation
Zane S, et al. (2016). Abortion-related mortality in the United States 1998–2010.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4554338/

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Medically reviewed by Stacy A. Henigsman, DO — Written by Ann Pietrangelo — Updated on July 10, 2025

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Abortion Care

What does it feel like to have a medication abortion?

Side effects

How to minimize pain

What does it feel like to have a procedural abortion?

Side effects

How to minimize pain

After the procedure

Are there any other physical risks to consider?

Are emotional side effects possible?

The bottom line

How we reviewed this article:

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