Medical termination: what the pill method actually involves

Who this suits, and why the timing matters

Medical termination is suitable only in the earliest weeks of pregnancy. Past that point the medication stops being the right tool, and a short surgical procedure becomes the safer and more reliable option instead. That is the plainest reason not to wait: this route closes early, and the sooner your dates are confirmed, the more likely it is still open to you. What the MTP Act allows depends on your own situation, so confirming how far along you are is the first step either way.

What actually happens

• A consultation and a scan. Done here, in our own department, by our own doctors, on the day you arrive. It confirms how many weeks you are, confirms the pregnancy is inside the womb, and rules out anything that would make the medication route unsafe for you.
• The prescribed consent form. A termination requires the consent form prescribed by the government to be signed, and that form exists only at licensed premises — which is also why a pharmacy may not dispense these medicines without it. It is there to protect you, and being asked to sign it is one of the plainest signs of a properly licensed facility.
• Medication given under medical supervision at the hospital — not handed over for you to take unsupervised at home, and not sold to you without a prescription. These medicines are prescription-only in India.
• A follow-up visit. This is not optional. It confirms the termination is complete. If it is not complete, the remaining tissue needs to be removed, usually with a short surgical procedure, to avoid infection or heavy bleeding later.

An ectopic pregnancy is not a termination

An ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy that has settled and begun growing outside the womb, usually in a fallopian tube. It is a different medical condition — not a termination of pregnancy — and it is an emergency. It cannot be treated with these medicines at all. It is sometimes discovered on the scan done before a termination, which is exactly why that scan is done first, every time. Where it is found, treating it is emergency surgery to protect your life, decided on entirely different grounds from anything else on this page. Read about ectopic pregnancy.

When to come back immediately

Soaking through more than a couple of pads an hour, fever, or severe pain are not things to wait out at home — call us straight away or come in.

Why buying it online or without a prescription is a bad idea

These medicines are restricted to prescription sale in India for a reason: without a dating scan first, you cannot be sure the pregnancy is early enough, or inside the womb at all, and without a follow-up visit an incomplete termination can go unnoticed until it becomes an emergency. The hospital visit is what makes the medication safe, not the medication on its own.

Your privacy here

Nothing about your visit is written where anyone else can see it, discussed outside the room, or shared with anyone — not your family, not your employer, not anyone who telephones asking. The staff are trained over years for exactly this: nobody will look at you a certain way, and nobody will ask you to explain yourself. You do not need anyone else's permission, and being unmarried changes nothing.

What it costs

A figure given over the phone is usually close, but it rests on a recent scan and cannot account for an examination that has not happened yet. Once you have been assessed and examined here, you are given a precise, itemised cost — hospital, medical, pharmacy and laboratory — and that figure does not change at the end. See the cost of medical termination for what it covers: your consultation, scan and follow-up, not the medication alone.

This page is for general education and is not personal medical advice. Treatment depends on your own examination and reports, so please speak to a doctor about your situation. We do not carry out or offer sex determination of any kind.