Physical problems after the abortion are uncommon. Most women will be warned to expect very little bleeding for the first few days, after which bleeding like a period (often with cramps) begins. This may be bright red for a couple of days, and then dwindle away with small amounts of dark spotting over the next week or so. This delayed bleeding is the result of hormonal changes after the abortion. Before this was understood, it was often thought to mean complications, and many women had to go through admission to hospital and curettage, which almost always showed nothing wrong. We know better now.
Most clinics like to arrange a visit (or a check with your own doctor) about two weeks after the abortion. This is a good time to check that everything’s back to normal in your pelvis, to make sure that all’s well with the contraception you’ve chosen, and to see how you’re coping emotionally.
The emotional response after abortion is more complex. Immediately afterwards many women feel great relief, sometimes tinged with sadness. A few days later most women experience a sudden downturn in mood, feeling depressed, listless and uncontrollably weepy. This is also due to hormonal changes. It usually begins about the same time as the bleeding and cramp, so you feel physically as well as emotionally miserable for a day or so. You’ve probably also been warned that these ‘blues’ are likely to occur and will only last for about 36 hours, but that doesn’t make it easier to cope. It’s a time when you need good friends around you.
Effect of abortion on future pregnancies
When large groups of women who have had abortions are compared, those who have had a lawful abortion are no different to those who haven’t, and have the same chance of having a healthy pregnancy and
baby in the future. Having three or more abortions puts a woman at a slightly
increased risk of miscarriage or prematurity in future pregnancies. For individual women anything that results in reproductive tract infection can be a threat to future fertility. This is why it is so important, follow carefully all advice aimed at preventing infection.
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