Following a medical abortion, you may experience bleeding lightly, moderately, or heavily. In some cases, women do not bleed afterward, at all.
Bleeding can start right after the abortion process or until several days after. When it happens, it may stop at some point and then start again.
Don’t be surprised if you experience increased bleeding 4 to 5 days after a medical abortion, complete with clots and strong cramps that will last for several days.
Menstrual-like cramping is normal for the first week after an abortion and may extend to the second week. So don’t be alarmed.
Just take a pain reliever to ease the pain, such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen. But avoid Aspirin as it can increase bleeding.
The only time you need to worry or even call an A&E is when heavy bleeding becomes too heavy and too much.
What you need to know about bleeding after an abortion
- Bleeding can last around 1 to 2 weeks
- Blood clots maybe pass like a normal menstrual period
- When the bleeding stops, you may experience spotting until your next period
- 3 to 6 weeks after an abortion, your normal period should begin
- You may experience mood swings or emotional upset for a few days or weeks
- Menstrual-like cramping can happen for the first week or two
It is important to note that the symptoms you experience may vary from one abortion pill to another. In the case of Misoprostol, bleeding and cramps should be expected.
After using the pill, bleeding can start within 4 hours. But it can also happen at a much later period. Bleeding usually signals the start of an abortion.
As abortion continues and progresses, bleeding and cramps will become more severe and may be associated with other side effects like vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, and dizziness.
Cramps and bleeding are often heavier if the pregnancy has developed for longer.
Once you experience heavier blood loss, with severe pain and cramping, this signals that the abortion process has reached its peak.
Once it’s complete, bleeding and cramps should diminish.
2 to 5 hours after using Misoprostol, you may experience the heaviest bleeding which then slows down within 24 hours. Light bleeding will continue for 1 to 3 weeks, and menstrual period should occur 4 to 6 weeks after.
There are instances when heavy bleeding can happen after 48 hours, along with clots that may pass for days or even weeks. This is normal when taking Misoprostol.
What is not normal is when heavy bleeding becomes severe.
How can you tell if you’re bleeding more than it is safe and necessary?
Keep track of the number of pads you’re using
If within an hour you soak 2 maxi pads, which extends to two hours in a row, you need to call your doctor immediately. This is because you are already experiencing severe bleeding.
Keep an eye on the size of any blood clots
Passing clots that are bigger than a golf ball for 2 hours or more is a sign of serious bleeding that requires medical attention. Don’t ignore the sign and call the clinic right away or go to an A&E if you are able.
Abnormal vaginal bleeding may be a result of the blood vessels not constricting or uterine muscles not contracting to stop the bleeding. On very rare occasions, it can also be a result of a perforated uterus or a lacerated cervix.
That is why abnormally heavy bleeding after an abortion should not be ignored.
While it is normal to pass blood clots as you heal from a medical abortion, with sizes that range from pebble-like to egg-like, the timeline tells a different story.
Golf ball-sized clots passing for two hours or more is a serious complication.
This can result in the uterus enlarging and causing severe pain because the cervical opening is blocked. It can be caused by the uterus not contracting and passing out tissue during an abortion.
Monitor the length of time that you’re heavily bleeding
Bleeding heavily for 12 hours in a row is bad news. This may be a sign that something is wrong and you should contact your physician right away.
The same is true if you bleed heavily for 12 hours or more and the color of blood is bright red instead of darker red.
Bleeding longer than 2 weeks
If you experience spotting or bleeding longer than 2 weeks, you should call your doctor for an appointment.
Remember that normal bleeding after an abortion should only last around 1 to 2 weeks. Anything longer than that is a cause for worry.
You should also call the doctor if you don’t have your period within 6 weeks after your procedure. There could be underlying causes that need to be checked and addressed immediately.
Based on the information above, one of the most important signs to look out for is the timeline of bleeding following an abortion.
Bleeding heavily during and a few weeks after an abortion is normal, provided that there are no large clots and that you’re not soaking several maxi pads or sanitary towels in one hour.
Bleeding for two weeks is common. But can be worrisome if it lasts longer.
With this in mind, monitor how long you bleed following a medical abortion and keep an eye out for other symptoms.
These include signs of infection, such as a headache, dizziness, or muscle aches, severe belly pain, 4 to 6 hours of vomiting, heavy or smelly vaginal discharge, and pain in the genital area.
I had an injection and Inected abortion of 7 weeks pregnancy. There was heavy bleeding four hours and light bleeding for seven days and it stopped for 7 days. After the 7 days I started experiencing droppings again, though light droppings. I was taking Vitamins K, calcium to stop the droppings but it still persist.
After i aborted three weeks pregnant I bleed after some hours for two days with some clotting then stop and two days later I started bleeding with some clotting does that mean it was successful?
Hi there Floree, read the below:
https://womanjunction.com/faq-frequently-asked-questions-menstrual-cycle-pregnancy-ovulation-abortion/
Blanche
Hello I took Misoprotol alone and I was 3weeks pregnant, that same evening at around 10pm I had very strong cramps, n bleeding that filled a pad, after taking the second dose of meds, I started passing out clots and later I passed a larger clot, and then I did bleed the whole day and after that I had dark spottings for two days and since then nothing more, no bleeding, no spotting and am so confused if the abortion was successful or not help me please! Thanks very much!
Hello Blanche, please read below:
https://womanjunction.com/faq-frequently-asked-questions-menstrual-cycle-pregnancy-ovulation-abortion/
I am 7weeks and 3days pregnant I inserted two cytotec and took one orally.I bled for just a day and after that I see small blood in my panties. Was the abortion successful pls I need an ans pls.
Hello Rosy, there is nothing you have mentioned that would imply that your abortion was unsuccessful.
Pls ma. I had an abortion on 23rd july. After 2 to 3days the bleeding is little… But from the 26th july, I started experiencing light heavy bleeding… Pls Ma, is my abortion successful? Pls I wanna know
Hello Gift, take a pregnancy test to confirm if your abortion was successful.
Hi I did a medical abortion, they gave me a tablet that I drank at the centre orally and after 24 hours I was advised to place 4 tablet under the tongue and I used 1 pad for the day ,no active bleeding, I was 4 weeks pregnant.Was it successful?
Hi there Rose, if you have any doubts of your abortion being unsuccessful, then take a pregnancy test to confirm.
hi doc, am 3 weeks pregnant I took misoprostol I have only experienced heavy bleeding for 3days and 4days light bleeding in short I only did it for a week.now my question does it mean am still pregnant or do I have any complications?
Hello Anita, take a pregnancy test to confirm if you are still pregnant if you have any doubts.
I had a abortion two weeks ago and experienced light bleed for about week. Then suddenly yesterday I started bleeding really heavily (normally have a really light flow on my monthly) and now I’m filling up night extra large heavy flow pads every 1/2 hours with clots I feel passing through everytime and on and off pelvic severe pain, should I wait a day or two longer to see if it goes away or see my doctor immediately?
Hello Briony, yes I agree that you should see your doctor.
Took an abortion injection, felt mild cramp that didn’t need painkiller. Felt like using d toilet nd bleed with little clot, slept and woke up by 3am to see my pad soaked with blood nd clot……jx had drop of blood stain on my pad…….does dis mean the abortion is successful?
Hello Bene, if you have any doubts of having successfully aborted then take a pregnancy test to confirm.
Hi am Grace i had a 7week pregnancy took the pill on 13th heavy bleeding followed and cramping and clots
now this is my 13th day of bleeding still bleeding heavily am i safe.
Hello Grace, all women abort at different duration and times.
I took an abortion drug when I was 3 weeks pregnant, 9 days today I am still bleeding ,I use 3 pads a day. it is normal ???please help me
Hello Blessing, yes this seems to be normal.
Hello, I aborted 6weeks pregnancy using misoprostol. 2hours later heavy bleeding for about 2days and stopped bleeding, 3days later light bleeding have lasted 5days now and abdominal pains that’s strong but gets relieved with ibuprofen and antibiotics, am I okay?
Hi, if you are having serious cramps that are unbearable I would call the doctor however the bleeding is normal. As far as the antibiotics, unsure as to what you are taking them for.
After taking cytotec for six weeks pregnancy the bleeding came like my normal period with small clots for seven days now. Is it possible that the pregnancy has aborted successful?
Hi Louisa, yes that is normal. The only way to know it’s successful is to go for your follow up appointment or when you get your next period.
I had a 8 weeks pregnant abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol! I started bleeding heavy for 1 or 2 hours after than my period came normal but I didn’t experience any severe cramps or pains! 4 days after my abortion it’s when I felt cramps and lower abdominal pain and back pain but now am fine still bleeding and my clots are not more big than a lemon ! And I haven’t seen any strange things in my blood or pads only saw clots , is it possible that the fetus is out ? Or maybe it’s still in ?
Hello Matilda, you are currently still in the process of aborting.
Hello. I took mifepristone and misoprostol for my 4 weeks pregnancy abortion. I had cramps at first the bleeding started, everything was normal. Now it’s 17 days after the abortion and am still bleeding. The colour is now a bit weird and it smells like raw egg. It has been like this for the past few days. Is this normal?
hi! i am like 7 weeks pregnant when i had 3 cytotec oral and inserted 3 too. I took meds july 4 2018 4:30 pm and I started heavy bleeding and clotting around 830 pm until 2pm of the next day. The ff day july 5 I just used 1-2 pads only and on the 4th day 1 pad is enough. still have spotting and experiencing light bleeding especially when i’m peeing i have little blood clot too. Now it’s my 7 day and i’m just having very light bleeding. I just want to ask if it’s normal and abortion is successful? Thank you very much
Hello Rose, there is nothing that you have written that would make it seem as though you have not aborted successfully.
After aborting 9weeks pregnancy no heavy bleeding passed out blood clots and spotting.. am so confused don’t know if abortion is not successful
Hi1. Did I you bleed at all? If not I would make an appointment with your doctor to ensure that it was successful.