Very early abortion, starting from when a woman first misses her period and up to nine weeks of pregnancy, is feasible with medical abortion, and at that stage it works almost all the time. Medical abortion can also be used for pregnancy termination after nine weeks, up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, and can be administered by a mid-level provider using appropriate regimens and with physician back-up if required. Regimens have greatly improved for second trimester medical abortion in recent years, but many providers are not aware of this and still rely on older methods which carry greater risks.