Recovering after an abortion

Take care of yourself in the following days.

What happens to your body in the period after an abortion and when should you contact your doctor? The Mix looks at the physical and emotional symptoms you may experience while you recover, as well as the warning signs of infection after an abortion. 

Support available after the abortion procedure

You may feel scared and confused about how you’re going to feel after an abortion. Many women recover quickly and feel that deciding to stop the pregnancy was the right choice. Others may just want to get it over and done with, but then find it hard to forget about afterwards. It’s important to remember that you have a right to your feelings, whatever they are, and you’re entitled to more than just medical advice.

Brook provides free sexual health and wellbeing services for young people in the UK, including local clinics and online digital sex and relationships tools.

However, as Rebecca from the Family Planning Association points out, not all counselling services are created equal. ‘Some counselling services are run and financed by groups that oppose abortion and their aim is to stop you from having an abortion,” says Rebecca. “If you feel that something isn’t right about the information that you are receiving then think about going somewhere else for advice.” Remember, an abortion is your choice and you have every right to make it.

Bleeding after abortion

Whether you have a medical abortion or a surgical abortion, it’s likely that you will experience some bleeding for about 14 days after the procedure along with pains similar to period pains. These are normal after abortion symptoms.

Your period after abortion

Your first period will generally return anywhere between 4 and 8 weeks. Your first few may be heavier and longer than usual, this is nothing to be concerned about and will pass.

You may also feel sick and have light bleeding or spotting up to your next period after an abortion. Don’t worry if you have irregular periods for a while. “I wasn’t aware of the amount of bleeding I would have and how long I would be bleeding for afterwards,” says Amy, who had an abortion at 12 weeks. “Also, how much it would mess up my menstrual cycle.”

“If you’re soaking more than three sanitary towels per hour, or bleeding very heavily for a week, then you need to contact someone at the clinic or hospital,” says Lisa at Brook. “Avoid using tampons to deal with the bleeding and use sanitary towels instead. There’s no actual evidence to support that swimming will lead to infection, but it’s probably best to avoid this for around two weeks afterwards to prevent that risk. It’s also best to not have sex for two weeks.”

For help and advice with contraception see our article on types of contraception.

It’s best to go back to your doctor (GP) around two to three weeks after the abortion to make sure that everything is OK. If there’s anything you’re worried about immediately after your abortion, speak to a nurse or make an appointment straight away. One of the most important things you can do is complete the course of antibiotics you’re given to prevent any infection.

Warning signs of infection after an abortion

Don’t panic, most infections after an abortion are mild and easy to treat. Symptoms of an infection include:

• Lasting or severe pain and cramps that don’t subside, even with painkillers.
• Discoloured or smelly vaginal discharge.
• Abnormal tenderness of the breasts and sickness two weeks after the abortion.
• Frequent passing of large clots.
• A high temperature.
• Continuous and heavy bleeding for more than two days afterwards.

If any of these apply to you, contact your doctor as soon as possible.

Do abortions have any risks?

It’s normal to wonder about side effects after an abortion, but generally speaking abortion is a very safe procedure:

• There’s no evidence to say that having an abortion, or more than one, will affect your fertility. There are some risks associated with abortion, relating to which type of abortion you’ve had, and these will be explained to you by your doctor.
• Infection is the most common risk of abortion. They are easily sorted, but it’s important to deal with them promptly to avoid any future problems with your fertility, much like an untreated STI.
• A very small percentage of women will experience a missed abortion. Marie Stopes Centres say the risk is less than 1 in 10,000 abortions. If you are still experiencing pregnancy symptoms three weeks after your abortion, go back and see your doctor.
• There is the possibility that a piece of tissue from the foetus may be left in the uterus. This can cause pain and may lead to infection, in which case a repeat procedure may be needed.

Post-abortion feelings

Having an abortion can result in a range of emotions – everyone is different.

If you are feeling low, or it’s affecting your relationships and general wellbeing, it’s important you speak to someone you can confide in. “Certain physical things shocked me about having an abortion,” says Amy. “I remember coming round afterwards and wondering what I was doing there and what had happened. The hardest thing for me to grasp was that I went in with a baby that had been in me for 12 weeks and came out of the same room without a baby in me. How could my baby have gone, just like that, in a matter of minutes? I didn’t get to say goodbye and I wasn’t prepared with how to get to grips with it afterwards.”

You should be offered a free counselling session after an abortion. Some of the larger service providers will let you take this session up to a year after the procedure. You can also go to your doctor or a nurse, and they can refer you for counselling on the NHS.

“Most women don’t experience serious feelings of regret or grief after an abortion,” says Rebecca at FPA. “When they do it’s normally about the situation of how the abortion took place; perhaps they wanted to carry on with the pregnancy and they couldn’t because of personal situations. The important thing is not to suffer in silence and to ask for help if you need it.”

For more support, see our article on depression and mixed feelings after abortion here.

If you need help but are confused about where to go locally you can get support on a whole range of issues on our website. You can also chat about abortion and get support from our community on our Discussion Boards.

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