Abortion Care After the First Trimester: A Hospital-Based Guide for Health Professionals
This course provides an overview of later abortion care, including key terms, methods, and practices. Learners will examine the frequency and processes of procedural and medication abortion beyond the first trimester, and review evidence on safety, complications, and emotional impacts. Designed for health professionals, the course builds knowledge and confidence to support patients who may require later abortion care.
The course is divided into 5 modules, Take-Home Resources, and Ask the Expert Portal. The 5 modules are divided into the following topics:
- Introduction to Later Abortion
- Later Abortion Care Process
- Why Do People Access Later Abortion Care?
- Legal and Medical Frameworks for Later Abortion Care
- Conscientious Care
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Describe key methods and processes in later abortion care, including their safety and impacts on patients.
- Summarize the continuum of care for later abortion, including counselling, informed consent, pre-abortion, intra-operative/intrapartum, and post-abortion care.
- Discuss reasons people access later abortion care and the systemic, geographic, and clinical barriers that influence access in Canada.
- Examine how professional obligations and personal values intersect with the legal and medical frameworks that guide later abortion care in Canada.
- Apply the principles of conscientious care to your practice in abortion-related care.
Education materials developed by experts at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, ON.
This course was developed in partnership with University of British Columbia (UBC) – Contraception and Abortion Research Team (CART) and funded by Health Canada.
Take your learning further and learn more about additional topics from the CART Access Project:
The Division of Continuing Professional Development, University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine (UBC CPD) is fully accredited by the Continuing Medical Education Accreditation Committee (CACME) to provide CPD credits for physicians. This activity is an Accredited Self-Assessment Program (Section 3) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by UBC CPD. You may claim a maximum of 2.0 hours (credits are automatically calculated). Each physician should claim only those credits accrued through participation in the activity.