D&E abortion (especially if you are over 15 weeks pregnant) should always be preceded by proper dilation of the cervix. The safest and least traumatic way to perform cervical dilation is to have laminaria (sterile seaweed sticks that expand overnight) inserted the day before the D&E procedure. You should also have a sonogram to make sure you physician knows exactly how far along you are. The sonogram and laminaria, followed by a D&E abortion will give you the safest, least traumatic way to end your pregnancy. At Women's Health Specialists, all of our later abortions are performed by the D&E method, using laminaria to dilate the cervix.

While later abortions are more technically difficult to perform, they are still a very safe procedure. There are some very skilled physicians that have performed many of these procedures. Many women have to travel to an urban area to find a provider.