There are countless reasons why people choose to access an abortion and not continue with a pregnancy. Some will be financial, and some will come down to a particular lifestyle. Some will also be due to fear or not being in a suitable relationship, while others will be down to health reasons. Regarding the latter cause, there are a number of situations in which a woman’s health – even her life – would be severely impacted by continuing with a pregnancy. Read on to find out some of the scenarios in which this is the case.
Pulmonary Hypertension
Pulmonary hypertension essentially means that the blood pressure in the blood vessels that connect the lungs to the heart is too high. This puts a massive additional strain on the heart because it needs to work harder to get blood to the lungs. Since pregnancy means the heart is working harder anyway, this extra work could be dangerous and even fatal – there is a 50% chance of death if you develop this condition due to heart failure.
In this instance, an abortion could potentially save the mother’s life and, at the very least, might enable her to get her health back under control. Many abortion clinics would carry out a termination in such a case, among others.
Ectopic Pregnancy
In most pregnancies, the fertilized egg is implanted in the uterus, where it can grow. However, in some cases, the egg does not reach the uterus and is implanted elsewhere, often in the fallopian tubes. This is known as ectopic pregnancy, and it is extremely dangerous; there isn’t room within the fallopian tubes for a fetus to grow, which means the tubes rupture, causing severe bleeding. There is no possible way to save an ectopic pregnancy, and an abortion is the only cure.
Severe Preeclampsia
In some situations, a woman can develop severe preeclampsia – a life-threatening condition. It tends to arise about halfway through a pregnancy, resulting in a huge rise in blood pressure, which can damage all of the internal organs.
When this happens, the risks are so high that pregnancy termination is the only safe option for the woman. This might be an induced premature birth, or an abortion, which will depend on how viable the fetus is. The good news is that once the pregnancy is over, preeclampsia is also over – it only occurs when someone is pregnant.
Severe Kidney Disease
When you are pregnant, your kidneys have to work much harder to remove not only waste from your body but waste from the fetus as well. If someone develops severe kidney disease, the kidneys might fail altogether as they can’t handle the additional strain.
Although not everyone with kidney problems will find it difficult to have a healthy pregnancy, the chances of complications are higher among individuals with kidney issues. If this is likely to be the case, abortion is often recommended – not only to improve the mother’s health but also to potentially save her life.
