What’s new
If you’ve previously worked with the WHO guidelines on abortion care (2012 Safe abortion guideline, 2015 Health worker roles in providing safe abortion care and post-abortion contraception and 2018 Medical management of abortion) , you may benefit from starting here for a quick glance at what’s additional (either entirely new recommendations; or recommendations that are now presented as separate recommendations, rather than as a composite recommendation), updated, and where the guidance has remained unchanged. On the left you have the sections, topic areas, and the specific recommendation or best practice statement number and type.
ABORTION REGULATION | |
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Criminalization | |
1 (LAW & POLICY; LP) | ADDITIONAL |
Grounds-based approaches | |
2 (LP) | ADDITIONAL |
Gestational age limits | |
3 (LP) | ADDITIONAL |
SERVICES ACROSS THE CONTINUUM OF CARE | |
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Provision of information on abortion care | |
4 (SERVICE DELIVERY; SD) | UNCHANGED |
Provision of counselling | |
5 (SD) | UPDATED |
PRE-ABORTION | |
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Mandatory waiting periods | |
6 (LP) | ADDITIONAL |
Third-party authorization | |
7 (LP) | ADDITIONAL |
Rh isoimmunization for abortion at gestational ages < 12 weeks | |
8 (CLINICAL SERVICES; CS) (NEW) | ADDITIONAL |
Antibiotic prophylaxis for surgical and medical abortion | |
9 (CS) | UNCHANGED |
Determining gestational age of pregnancy: pre-abortion ultrasound scanning | |
10 (CS) | UNCHANGED |
Pain management for abortion | |
11–14 (CS) for surgical abortion and for prior cervical priming | ADDITIONAL |
15 and 16 (CS) for medical abortion | ADDITIONAL |
Cervical priming prior to surgical abortion | |
17 (CS) at < 12 weeks | UPDATED |
18 (CS) (NEW) at ≥ 12 weeks | ADDITIONAL |
19 (SD) with medication, at any gestational age | UPDATED |
20 (SD) with osmotic dilators, at ≥ 12 weeks | UPDATED |
Provider restrictions | |
21 (LP) | ADDITIONAL |
Conscientious objection | |
22 (LP) | ADDITIONAL |
ABORTION | |
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Methods of surgical abortion | |
23 (CS) at < 14 weeks | UNCHANGED |
24 (SD) vacuum aspiration at < 14 weeks | UPDATED |
25 (CS) at ≥ 14 weeks | UNCHANGED |
26 (SD) D&E at ≥ 14 weeks | UPDATED |
Medical management of induced abortion | |
27 (CS) at < 12 weeks | ADDITIONAL |
28 (SD) at < 12 weeks in whole or in part (i.e. performing all or some of the subtasks) | UPDATED |
29 (CS) at ≥ 12 weeks | UPDATED |
30 (SD) at ≥ 12 weeks | UPDATED |
Missed abortion | |
31 (CS) (NEW) Medical management at< 14 weeks | ADDITIONAL |
Intrauterine fetal demise | |
32 (CS) Medical management at≥ 14 to ≤ 28 weeks | UNCHANGED |
33 (SD) Medical management at≥ 14 to ≤ 28 weeks | ADDITIONAL |
POST-ABORTION | |
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Follow-up care or additional services | |
34 (CS) | UNCHANGED |
Incomplete abortion | |
35 and 36 (CS) | UNCHANGED |
37 (SD) Medical management with misoprostol at < 14 weeks | UPDATED |
38 (SD)Vacuum aspiration at < 14 weeks | UPDATED |
Management of non-life-threatening complications | |
39 (SD) Infection | UPDATED |
40 (SD) Haemorrhage | UPDATED |
Timing of post-abortion contraception | |
41 (CS) Medical eligibility criteria (MEC) for contraceptive use | UNCHANGED |
42 (CS) Contraception and surgical abortion | UNCHANGED |
43 (CS) Contraception and medical abortion | UNCHANGED |
44 (SD) Intrauterine devices (IUDs) | UNCHANGED |
45 (SD) Contraceptive implants | UNCHANGED |
46 (SD) Injectable contraceptives | UPDATED |
47 (SD) Tubal ligation | UNCHANGED |
SERVICE-DELIVERY OPTIONS AND SELF-MANAGEMENT APPROACHES | |
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Telemedicine approaches to delivering medical abortion care | |
48 (SD) (NEW) | ADDITIONAL |
Service-delivery approaches for provision of information, counselling and medical abortion | |
49 (SD) (NEW) | ADDITIONAL |
Self-management of medical abortion at < 12 weeks | |
50 (SELF-MANAGEMENT) | UPDATED |
Self-management approaches for post-abortion contraception (see also Timing of post-abortion contraception, Recommendations 41–47 above) | |
51 (SELF-MANAGEMENT) Injectable contraception (initiation and continuation) | UPDATED |
52 (SELF-MANAGEMENT) Over-the-counter oral contraceptive pills | UNCHANGED |
53 (SELF-MANAGEMENT) Over-the-counter emergency contraceptive pills | UNCHANGED |
54 (SELF-MANAGEMENT) Condom use | UNCHANGED |