If a woman is earlier on in her pregnancy, this procedure can sometimes be done without dilating the cervix first. This is called a "vacuum aspiration". It can be used for women who are in the first trimester (the first 12 weeks of pregnancy) or for women who are in the early stages of the second trimester. However, sometime during the second trimester, it becomes very difficult to do this procedure without dilating the cervix first. At this point, a full dilation and extraction is needed.