Frequently Asked Questions

It is required to track the decline of the beta hcg (pregnancy hormone level) to determine if the abortion is successful.

• Early Medical Abortion is 93-98% successful
• Chances of haemorrhage is less than 1 in 1000
• Chances of infection is less than 1 in 100
• Chances of having an incomplete abortion is 1 – 4 in 100
• Chances of an ongoing pregnancy is 1 in 200

• Most women will experience moderate to heavy bleeding (93.4% of women in Australian study).
• Most women will experience severe pain / cramps (78.4% of women in Australian study). This can be managed with pain medications that your doctor will prescribe. It is essential that you follow the instructions for the pain medications to effectively reduce the discomfort.
• Despite the above, most women felt that their overall experience was as expected or better than expected (90.3%) and would recommend it to others.

In the unlikely event that you have a haemorrhage (1 in 1000) chance, you need to be within 2 hours drive to the hospital to receive emergency care in timely manner.

• It is advisable to start the medical abortion only if you are extremely certain that you do not wish to keep the pregnancy.
• There is no evidence that Mifepristone causes malformations in the fetus, however, it blocks progesterone receptors in the uterus thus interfering with the requirements of a normal pregnancy. It increases the risk of miscarriage.
• Misoprostol in pregnancy is associated with malformations in the fetus. Please book an appointment so that your doctor can discuss the risks of complications and alternative options with you.

No. Early medical abortion does not impact your chances of falling pregnant in the future.

According to Therapeutic Guidelines, yes it is safe to take it while breastfeeding. Women do not need to “pump and dump” while taking the medication and can continue breastfeeding as normal.

• Here is a comparison of the pros and cons of medical vs surgical abortion
• The Royal Women’s Hospital https://www.thewomens.org.au/health-information/unplanned-pregnancy-information/unplanned-pregnancy-deciding-what-to-do has excellent resources to help with decision making.
• You can book an appointment with one of the doctors. Your doctor is trained in non directive pregnancy counselling and can assist with your decision making in an unbiased way.

Please see Fees for in depth break down.

Your doctor will recommend a pharmacy with a courier service. The cost of delivery is approximately $20 via Aus Post expressed delivery with tracking which would take 1 – 2 days.

Unfortunately, in order to keep the costs down for you, we do not have a phone service available. Please feel free to use the Contact Us form, or send an email to

• Please refer to Complications and Safety Net Instructions video, which emailed to you to determine if you need to present to your nearest hospital urgently.
• If you do not meet the criteria, please ring 1800 022 222 Healthdirect (NURSE-ON-CALLl in Vic).
• If you are not requiring immediate advice, you can book an appointment with one of the doctors. Follow up appointments are bulk billed.

No, a referral is not required.

• No, a referral is not required.
• No. Your doctor can provide the necessary referrals at your first appointment.
• However, if you do manage to have an ultrasound and blood tests, and the results are forwarded to your doctor before your appointment, the process will be expedited for you.
• Please be aware that if your blood test results are incomplete or taken too many days before your appointment, you may be required to repeat some of them.

Please advice your GP you will need the following

• Full blood count
• Beta hcg
• Blood group and antibodies
• First pass urine PCR for chlamydia and gonorrhoea
• 1st Trimester Dating Scan (ultrasound)

You must get a copy of your results and email it to us before your appointment in order for the process to be expedited for you. Occasionally, some GPs will say that we can call up to chase to results, but unfortunately, as we are an after hour service, pathology and radiology companies will not be open at that time to take our calls.

An ultrasound is very Important and non-negotiable in order for us to exclude an ectopic pregnancy. The medications will be ineffective for terminating an ectopic pregnancy. The medications and the ongoing development of an ectopic pregnancy can cause life threatening internal haemorrhage. This is why we insist on the ultrasound.

If your doctor has determined that your ultrasound result was unable to identify where the pregnancy is located and confidently exclude an ectopic pregnancy, your doctor will ask you to repeat the ultrasound.

• Preferably at > 6 weeks pregnancy. Ultrasounds performed earlier than 6 weeks may not be able to determine the location of the pregnancy and may have to be repeated.
• At least 2 days before your appointment to allow time for results to be ready.
• The blood and urine test should preferably be done on the same day as the ultrasound.

Full blood count

• This helps to exclude pre-existing anaemia. It is dangerous to take the medication if you are already significantly anaemic and surgical abortion is the safer alternative.

Beta hcg

• The beta hcg is a pregnancy hormone. We use this to track the successful completion of the abortion.

Blood group and antibodies

• This information is In case you have a haemorrhage and require a blood transfusion at your nearest hospital.

First pass urine PCR for chlamydia and gonorrhoea

• If present, these bacteria reside at the cervix. An open cervix during the abortion will allow any bacteria present to enter the uterus and may lead to pelvic inflammatory disease. We screen for these to make sure if chlamydia or gonorrhoea infection Is present, we can treat it with antibiotics promptly.

• If the tests were ordered by your regular GP are incomplete, you may be asked to complete the missing tests.
• If your beta hcg (pregnancy hormone level) was taken too many days before your appointment, you may be asked to repeat it. It is important that you do so, as we need to establish a baseline to track the decline of beta hg to determine if the abortion is successful.

It is required to track the decline of the beta hcg (pregnancy hormone level) to determine if the abortion is successful.