Answers

1. What are the percentages of contraceptives used?
Sterility: 30%; No contraception: 22%; Pill: 17%; Condoms: 13%; Pregnant/Trying to get pregnant: 9%; Other contraception: 9%

2. How much does an abortion cost?
Anywhere from $200-$1,000, depending on procedure, age and clinic.

3. What percent of pregnancies end in abortion?
In 2002 it was estimated to be around 24%

4. What risks go with getting an abortion?
Heavy bleeding, infection, incomplete abortion, sepsis (total body infection), anesthetic complications (that could possibly lead to convulsions, heart attack, even death), damage to the cervix, uterine ling uterus or internal organs.

5. How much does an epidural cost?
Prices can range from $200-$1,500

6. What are the risks of an epidural?
Inadequate pain relief, rise in temperature, drop in blood pressure, postpartum back pain, spinal block, shivering, itching, retention of urine, feeling "detached" from the baby, catheter misplacement.

7. How high is the risk of death during birth to the mother?
In the U.S. women have about a 1-in-4,800 risk of dying in labor.

8. How many types of abortions are there?
There are 5 commonly used techniques for getting an abortion:
1. Manual vacuum aspiration
2. Suction curettage
3. Dilation and evacuation
4. Dilation and extraction
5. Miferpristone (abortion pill)

9. How many children are put up for adoption?
About 127,000 were adopted in the U.S. in 2000 and 2001. On September 30, 2003 there were 119,000 children waiting to be adopted.

10. Does giving birth become easier the more children you have?
This is more a matter of opinion, but many women have reported that second and third births become easier because the vagina has already been stretched.