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A self-induced abortion (or self-induced miscarriage) is an abortion performed by the pregnant woman herself outside the recognized medical system. Although the term can include abortions induced through legal, over-the-counter medication, it also refers to efforts to terminate a pregnancy through alternative, sometimes more dangerous means. Such practices may present a threat to the health of the woman and an unsuccessful attempt to induce such an abortion can cause lasting damage to the fetus. Self-induced abortion is easier to accomplish in the earliest stages of pregnancy (the first eight weeks from the last menstrual period).〔https://www.womenonweb.org/en/page/511/about-the-i-need-an-abortion-project〕〔Sage-Femme Collective, ''Natural Liberty: Rediscovering Self-Induced Abortion Methods'' (2008).〕 In recent years, drastic reductions in maternal death and injury due to self-induced abortion have been attributed to the availability of misoprostol (known commercially at "Cytotec"), an inexpensive, widely available drug with multiple uses, including the treatment of post-partum hemorrhage, stomach ulcers, and induction of labor. The World Health Organization has endorsed a standarized regimen of misoprostol to induce abortion up to 9 weeks of pregnancy. This regimen has been shown to be up to 83% effective in terminating a pregnancy.〔http://gynuity.org/resources/read/misoprostol-selfguide-engpdf/〕 ==Methods== Khokhar and Gulati report that women in underdeveloped areas of India successfully induce abortions through the following methods: *Lifting of heavy weights; *Consumption of mutton marrow; *Consumption of dried henna powder; *Consumption of carrot seed soup; There are a number of anecdotally recorded and disseminated methods of performing a self-induced abortion. Many of the following methods present significant danger (see below) to the life or health of the woman: *physical exertion designed to bring about a miscarriage *abdominal massage *receiving punches, kicks, or other blows to the abdominal area *bellyflopping onto a hard surface, or throwing herself down a flight of stairs *attempted removal of the fetus with a coat-hanger or similar device inserted into the uterus through the cervix〔Waldo L. Fielding, M.D., Tony Cenicola, ed., "(Repairing the Damage, Before Roe )", ''The New York Times'' (June 3, 2008).〕 (the historical use of this method has led to instances of its use as a symbol against the pro-life movement, illustrating dangers of barring state-condoned abortion)〔Tom Strode, "(Berkeley sends coat hangers to Congress )", ''LIFE DIGEST'' (December 15, 2009).〕 *attempted piercing of the fetus with a knitting needle, crochet hook, hat pin, bobby pin or similar device inserted into the uterus through the cervix〔 *insertion of a rubber tube or catheter into the uterus and attempting to suck the fetus out, or, alternatively, blowing air into the uterus to cause a miscarriage (if the tube or catheter pierced a blood vessel, this would sometimes lead to air embolism, which could be fatal) *ingesting abortifacients, Vitamin C megadosage, Pennyroyal or other substances believed to induce miscarriage〔(Natural Ways to Induce a Miscarriage ).〕 *douching with substances believed to induce miscarriage, such as turpentine, clorox bleach, or lye, all of which could cause intense chemical burns (beginning in the 1960s, many women used Coca Cola for this purpose, although its utility is at best dubious) *vaginal pessaries *yoga *acupuncture at points linked to miscarriage *hypothermia (many women would lie for peroids of time in snowbanks, which could be fatal to them) or hyperthermia (women would lie in tubs filled with hot or even scalding water for periods of time, often while simultaneously drinking gin) In a letter to the ''New York Times'', gynecologist Waldo L. Fielding wrote: Charles Jewett wrote The Practice of Obstetrics in 1901. In it, he stated, "Oil of tansy and oil of rue are much relied on by the laity for the production of abortion, and almost every day one may read of fatal results attending their use. Oil of tansy in large doses is said to excite epileptiform convulsions; quite recently one of my colleagues met such a case in his practice." In the 1994 documentary Motherless: A Legacy of Loss from Illegal Abortion, Louis Gerstley, M.D., said that, in addition to knitting needles, some women would use the spokes of bicycle wheels or umbrellas. "Anything that was metal and long and thin would be used," he claimed. He stated that a common complication from such a procedure was that the object would puncture through the uterus and injure the intestines, and the women would subsequently die from peritonitis and infection. Later in the film he mentioned that potassium permanganate tablets were sometimes used. The tablets were inserted into the vagina where they caused a chemical burn so intense that a hole may be left in the tissue. He claimed the tablets left the surrounding tissue in such a state that doctors trying to stitch up the wound couldn’t do so because "the tissue was like trying to suture butter." Dr. Mildred Hanson also described the use of potassium permanganate tablets in the 2003 documentary Voices of Choice: Physicians Who Provided Abortions Before Roe v. Wade. She said, "the women would bleed like crazy because it would just eat big holes in the vagina." Dr. David Reuben's book ''Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)'' mentions that many African women use a carved wooden ''abortion stick'' to induce, which has often been handed down. Attempts to insert hazardous objects into the uterus are particularly dangerous, as they can cause punctures leading to septicemia. Ingesting or douching with harmful substances can have poisonous results. Receiving blows to the abdomen, whether self-inflicted or at the hands of another, can damage organs. Furthermore, the less dangerous methods - physical exertion, abdominal massage, and ingestion of relatively harmless substances thought to induce miscarriage - are less effective, and may result in the fetus developing birth defects. However, abdominal massage abortion is traditionally practised in Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.〔Malcolm Potts, Martha Campbell, (History of Contraception ), Vol. 6, Chp. 8, Gynecology and Obstetrics, 2002.〕〔Population Policy Data Bank maintained by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, (Thailand: Abortion Policy ).〕 The cheap prescription synthetic prostaglandin drug Misoprostol - used in the U.S. to treat gastric ulcers - is often used as an abortifacient in self-induced abortion in Latin American countries where legal abortions are unavailable, and its use has also been observed in immigrant populations in New York.〔John Leland: "Abortion Might Outgrow Its Need for Roe v. Wade", ''The New York Times'', 2 October 2005.〕 Although proponents of this method deem it to be safer than those using insertion of objects or chemicals into the uterus, they also note that failure to effect an abortion by this method can lead to the child being born with serious birth defects. Furthermore, the drug causes a drastic drop in blood pressure, and women may hemorrhage as a result of misusing the drug for the purpose of abortion.〔Kathy Simmonds, Susan Yanow, ''(Use of Misoprostol for Self-induced Abortion Around the World )''.〕 Current medical procedures are significantly physically safer than traditional at-home methods. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Self-induced abortion」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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