- With Mayo Clinic internist
Sandhya Pruthi, M.D.
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Sandhya Pruthi, M.D.
Sandhya Pruthi, M.D.
Dr. Sandhya Pruthi, certified by the American Board of Family Practice, has been practicing medicine at Mayo Clinic since 1995 with special interests in breast diseases and women's health.
She is a consultant in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, and the Breast Diagnostic Clinic. She is an assistant professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minn.
The Winnipeg, Manitoba, native stresses education and patient-related research and has been active in both areas since joining Mayo Clinic. She is the primary investigator at Mayo Clinic of several clinical trials evaluating new agents for the prevention of breast cancer and identification of biomarkers for early detection of breast cancer. Her other research and clinical interests include managing the health of women who are at increased risk of breast cancer, breast pain and hot flashes, and developing patient education decision-making tools for breast-related concerns. She is director of the Breast Diagnostic Clinic and is a member of the Women's Health Executive Committee. Dr. Pruthi has been newly elected as a member to the board of directors for the American Society of Breast Disease. She has assisted with a variety of articles for MayoClinic.com.
"Having an opportunity to share information with my patients in the way that will help them to understand and be able to make educated decisions about their own health is very important to me," she says.
"The Web has become a major information site for people, and I want them to get the best and accurate information to be able to make informed choices for themselves, their family members and friends."
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Question
Abortion: Does it affect subsequent pregnancies?
How does having an abortion affect future pregnancies? Does it increase my risk of infertility or pregnancy complications?
Answer
from Sandhya Pruthi, M.D.
There is much evidence that abortion is very safe in regard to its possible impact on future pregnancies. Research has shown that both abortion by medication (medical abortion) and abortion by surgery (surgical abortion) very rarely result in infertility or complications in subsequent pregnancies.
During a medical abortion, a woman takes oral medications — mifepristone (formerly known as RU-486) and misoprostol — during her first trimester to abort the fetus. In a recent 2007 study of more than 11,800 women, researchers concluded that medical abortion does not increase the risk of future miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, preterm delivery or low birth weight babies.
During a surgical abortion, the fetus is removed from the uterus with a vacuum pump or syringe during outpatient surgery. It's possible — but very uncommon — for a surgical abortion to cause scarring on the inside of the uterus or to weaken the cervix. Such damage, if it occurs, may need surgical treatment.
Like all medical procedures, terminations of pregnancies carry some risk. However, the risk of medical and surgical abortions is quite low.
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