The abortion pill is very effective, but it works less well when you’re more than 8 weeks pregnant. The effectiveness depends on how far along you are in your pregnancy and when you take the medicine. After 11 weeks, there’s a bigger chance of stronger bleeding or cramps.
You can make sure that your medication abortion worked by taking a pregnancy test, ultrasound, or blood test. Your nurse or doctor will also walk you through everything you need to know during your medication abortion appointment.
Regular pregnancy tests that you get at the store and some health centers may give you a false positive result for up to 5 weeks after your abortion — that’s because it takes a while for the pregnancy hormones to leave your body, and the test can pick those up, but it doesn’t always mean you’re pregnant.
However, it IS possible to get pregnant very soon after an abortion — even if pregnancy tests are coming up positive or your period hasn’t started yet. So, if you’ve had sex without using birth control since having an abortion, a positive pregnancy test could mean that you’re pregnant again.
