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Making the decision to go through with an abortion it is often a stressful one.
There are many reasons why that decision is made whether it’s due to the health of the mother, learning about the health of the baby, and also that it’s just not the right time to bring a child into the world.
Whatever the situation is, it’s not one for others to judge, that is your decision and whatever you choose to do, it’s right for you.
Because it’s a stressful situation, there could be an effect on your upcoming menstrual cycle.
As explored in previous articles, stress can delay your period because your body is trying to regulate everything else (and it’s been said that delaying ovulation helps to prevent a pregnancy during a stressful time based on history).
Some women see their periods return quickly, within 4-8 weeks, while others may not see it as soon.
Let’s take a look at the basics of an abortion, different types, and then we can discuss how it can affect your next cycle (or two).
Abortion – General Information
An abortion is when pregnancy is ended at an early stage through an outside intervention. While there is a term, spontaneous abortion, it’s sort of a misnomer. It’s essential to note that this is a miscarriage.
This was not a pregnancy where the parents decided to terminate it, it’s when the body did it naturally [1].
The body, once a woman is pregnant, starts creating pregnancy hormones and preparing all the organs for sustaining a new life.
This means that during the time before and even after the abortion for a period of time, the woman can still experience some pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness and sensitivity to smells.
The body must go back to normal and let those hormones regulate in order for you to start feeling yourself again and so that you start having a cycle again.
When you make the decision to get an abortion you’ll want to go to a trained medical practitioner. Going to a place that isn’t can risk your health and your future fertility.
There are two types of abortion, a medical abortion, and a surgical abortion.
No matter which you choose an early abortion will not impair your fertility or result in complications later in pregnancies.
Both medical and surgical method can be used to induce abortion throughout the pregnancy. The choice of method used depends on factors such as pre-existing medical conditions, preference of women and availability of surgeon.
Medical Abortion
The medical abortion is as it states, it’s done with medicine and one of the most common medications used for this is mifepristone, a progesterone receptor modulator. Since progesterone is required to maintain pregnant uterus in quiescent state, mifepristone will bring about uterine contractions and result in expulsion of fetus.
This is followed by prostaglandin analogue misoprostol, which can now be administered in lower doses, and brings about strong contractions to expel products of conception.
This is something you must get from a doctor and is not an over-the-counter medication. The name may change depending on where you are located however they all do the same thing.
Surgical Abortion
As the name states, this is an abortion done surgically where the doctor will do either a manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) or a dilation and evacuation (D&E).
The former is generally done within the first 12 weeks and the second can be done after the first month [3].
What About your Menstrual Cycle after an Abortion
When you terminate a pregnancy during the first trimester, your period should return in four to eight weeks [4].
Generally, the earlier in the pregnancy you have the abortion, the sooner your cycle will return.
However, that does also depend on what type of birth control you are using (as some can delay or lighten your period, even stop it completely.
No matter what type of method you are using, if you don’t see your period return within the eight weeks, it’s advised to contact your doctor to check for pregnancy or any underlying conditions.
Right after the abortion, your body is going to prioritize expelling all the remnants from the lost pregnancy.
This includes fetal tissue in addition to other debris from your uterus, and it’s characterized by heavy bleeding.
Essentially, this is your first period because it is the beginning of your cycle, getting your body ready to ovulate once again.
The first period after an abortion might not be what you usually anticipate. It could be lighter than your normal one and might not last for the length of time that is normal for you.
That next period could even be heavier than you normally would expect as well. However, if your period is exceptionally heavy and long (filling more than one pad every two hours), you’ll want to contact your doctor.
What Could Change?
When it does come to that next period, as stated above, it might not be what you would normally expect. It could be different in multiple aspects than what your periods were like before your abortion.
One change could be the flow. If you had a surgical abortion, it could result in a lighter period than normal, and with a medical abortion, it could be heavier than normal [5].
You might also find that you have more PMS and other symptoms such as back pain and cramping for the first few cycles. This is normal and should eventually even out to what you experienced before [6].
One reason that the period after a medical abortion is heavier is that the body is still expelling all pregnancy-related tissues [7].
A surgical abortion removes the products of conception and endometrial lining, which results in lighter periods.
Pregnancy Test After Abortion
After an abortion, many want to see if it was successful and taking a pregnancy test is a sure way to determine that. Right?
Well, not necessarily depending on when you take it. A pregnancy test measures the levels of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) in the urine which is the pregnancy hormone as we’ll call it.
While the hormone does decrease very quickly after an abortion, there is still some in the body for up to four weeks after having an abortion [8].
After this point, it’s safe to take a test and determine that you are in fact no longer pregnant. Before that, you may get a false positive because your body hasn’t fully cleared the hormones from your system.
A blood test is a bit different because they can see the actual levels of the hormone. A test can be taken just before the abortion and then about five days post-abortion. If the levels have decreased, then the abortion is successful [9].
Getting Pregnant After Abortion
In that timeframe between the abortion and your next period, you may ovulate. However, this time can vary for different women and depends on how far the pregnancy was when the abortion happened.
Generally, this happens before the second cycle, the first cycle is when the body is still clearing out the pregnancy hormones and such and getting back to being regular again [10].
Because you will not know if you are ovulating yet, it’s recommended that you take precautions to prevent another pregnancy. Either you or your partner could investigate different methods of birth control.
In addition to not wanting to go through another abortion, your body will need time to heal from the loss of a pregnancy so another one is not recommended until at least a few months when it is Fully recovered.
This is very true for those who have had a surgical abortion where the cervix needs to heal from an actual surgery.
Final Thoughts
Again, having an abortion is an extremely personal decision and one that will affect you not only physically but also mentally as well.
Take care after your procedure to care for yourself, whatever that entails. It could be seeing a therapist, taking some yoga classes and meditation (once cleared by your doctor), getting a massage or a spa day, etc. It’s up to you.
Each person will handle it differently but treat your body with respect afterward and when you are ready to start your family, you will still be able to.
Do you have a question about your menstrual cycle, pregnancy, abortion or any other related topic? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions page.
References
- Visit https://www.webmd.com/women/abortion-procedures#1
- See https://www.nps.org.au/australian-prescriber/articles/mifepristone
- See above #1
- Planned Parenthood. What can I expect After Having an In-Clinic Abortion? [link]
- Aliya Khan via First Cry Parenting. Period After Abortion – Symptoms, Changes and Self Care Tips. [link]
- See above #5
- New Kids-Center. What’s Period After Abortion Like When to Worry? [link]
- Women Help Women. Was My Abortion Successful? [link]
- see above #8
- see above #7
I had an abortion in 2013. After the procedure, I’ve had an extremely regular cycle – my period came exactly every 28 days, up until October 2015. Since then, it has been consistently late by 3-5 days.
Is there a reason for this or anything I can do to make it regular again?
This is simply a change in cycle. Give it a month or two, and you should regulate out soon.
I had abortion on Dec 10, 2015. I took 3 pills of Misoprostol (Cytotec) orally. The bleeding started 4 hours after I took them. And then I passed the clots the same night. I bled for 1 week and stopped for few days and it started to bleed again for few days. During the second bleeding, I passed some more bigger clots than the first night I took the pills. I was bleeding for almost a month and I decided to go to gyn and do ultra-sound test and it was all clear. Just had to wait for the bleeding to finally stop and have my normal period.
But then, I got even more worried after 8 weeks of the abortion, I haven’t had my period yet. I suddenly experienced some pregnancy symptoms, like feeling tired all the time, lower back pain and my breasts felt tender and sore.
So I took home pregnancy tests for 4 times and it all came out negative. The pregnancy-like symptoms lasted for almost 3 weeks until on the February 14th, 2016 I finally had my first period after 9 weeks and 2 days of abortion! It was really heavy on the first two days and I’d see some clots but not much to worry about, I guess. As I’m writing this story, it’s already my 4th day and my period isn’t as heavy as the days before. Hopefully it’s a good sign. Overall, my period wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.
For some cases, like mine. it would take more than 8 weeks to finally have your period after abortion. Just be patient and good luck ladies!
i had an abortion 5 weeks ago i got normal bleedingas the doctor said. but last week i started bleeding again i though it was periods the day before yesterday the bleeding increased today it become worse and i got really heavy clots what could be the problem and what do i do first
I would talk to your doctor to make sure everything is okay.
Hi. My abortion started on 31 Jan 16 after having 2 mesoprotole medicines..after 3 hours bleeding started and in night I took another pills to complete medicines. Till then m having continue bleeding since last 12 days..is it normal.? In lasts days it was light but since yesterday m feeling like normal periods pain and getting flow again like normal periods? Is ths normal? Can periods b shifted to early dates ? Generally i get my periods on 17 or 18 dates but now m feeling like it is shifted to predate…as today is 12 Feb? Plz suggest …m worried abt ths?
I would contact your doctor, because bleeding continuously for 12 days isn’t normal. You can never be too careful.
I had one in September then 2 weeks later took the depo Provera shot and the bleeding stopped for about a month then I start bleeding for about 2 months… It was light but when I was due for another shot my bleeding stopped again for another month and here I am still bleeding very lightly for almost over a month….I’m terrified of what this means
I had to get a surgical abortion on 25th Dec 2015 and its been almost 6 weeks. I havent got periods yet. Today is the 12th of february. Is it normal?
For more information about abortions please check our FAQ page:)
hi, I had medical abortion on 8th February 2016, I bled heavily that day, light bleeding the next 2 days, what could be the cause?
this is my 3rd medical abortion
Check our FAQ page, to better answer the question.
Hi, I had a dilation and curettage on the 22nd of Dec 2015 and I didn’t bleed at all after the procedure, but I have still not gotten my period and its over 6weeks now. Should I be worried??
Please help!!!
I would talk to a doctor.
Hi, I had abortion of 26th January, then on 30th January i got my period and it goes up to 3rd February and it was heavy bleeding and some stomach pain, was it normal or? after 3rd Feb it cut off and all the paining were gone, and i had intercourse on 5th February what a the chances of being pregnant again?? please reply
Hello,The chance of you becoming pregnant right after an abortion is high, cramping and stomach pain after an abortion is normal.
Hi I done medical abortion Jan. 5/16. I did not get my period yet
Hello Saranya! This is normal, typically your period will be a little different after recieving an abortion. If you are truly concerned, I suggest seeking professional attention 🙂
Hello, After an abortion many women experience breakthrough bleeding which is quite normal if this happens again in the next few months get checked out by a doctor.
please ,I had medical abortion 22/12, started bleeding 23/12 it stopped and started 27th dec-3rd jan, no pain. just normal flows. had unprotected sex 8th jan9,used postinor, had little flows from 9-11 Jan. had another little flow on 25th Jan. had what I thought was my period on 1-4 Feb. But today 6th Feb I got little flows again. is this normal? am yet to see my nurse for checkup cos am busy. pls response pls
Hello,Breakthrough bleeding can be normal and not a cause for concern but it’s always best to get checked by a doctor.
I have 3 medical abortion in 6 month .now this time I had on 14 Jan. It is bleeding continuously since then . Early on bleeding was heavy ,then it was light . But it is again heavy for 3 -4 days .is this normal or is there any complications
Hi,prolonged bleeding soaking through 2 maxi pads per hour could be a sign of complication and should be checked out by a doctor.
bleeding is no so heavy. but there are clots. now bleeding has been stoped. but there is discharge and have itching. are these sign of infection?
Yes these are signs of infection, I would recommend taking an over-the-counter medication.
I had evacuation done on 1/10 because of missed miscarriage and on 2/1 after 3 weeks I got my period. Is it normal to have my period so soon just after 21 days… Please reply
After having a miscarriage it will take a while for your body to return to normal, so irregular periods are to be expected. Once your body heals your periods will return to normal again. If you are concerned over anything you should consult a doctor.
Hi.
i had an abortion last year august. i receive my periods normally and have a cycle of 28 days. what worries me is the cramping and back pains that come and go. is it normal?
please assist am worried..
If the main concern is your cramping, that could be completely normal. I personally get cramping and backpains from a normal period cycle. If you start to really experience some intense pains or bleeding, I would suggest contacting a professional. From what you are saying, however, does not seem at all severe.
Hi I had a medical abortion on the 4th of January 2016 and the abortion was successful as per the last check up with my doctor. But now (from 31st jan) I am experiencing a few drips blood discharge. Are those my periods or can be something else to worry about. Because my periods too occurs on 31st itself
Hello there, After an abortion it takes 4-6 weeks for a normal period to return chances are there’s nothing to worry about but your body trying to get back to normal as long as you are not experiencing any pain or fever you are ok.
Hi i had abortion on nov 6th i got my first period on Dec 18. On jan 17 while having intercourse the condom broke. I took a pregnancy test on jan 22nd it came neg… i had bleeding on jan 31, bit heavy and dark red… on feb 1 flow was very light…is this normal?? Usually i’ll get 4 days of period before abortion… if this is due to abortion how can i rectify it… please help