Photo: Pixabay
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
My First periods starts just after my abortion and now i am expecting my second periods. Its already delay by 4 days. I was expecting my second periods on 26th May after abortion and still i am waiting. Is this normal after abortion to have abnormal periods?
Hello Mrs Dave, Yes it is normal to have abnormal periods after abortion.
Comment Text*hi i took an abortion pill on the 1st of may and my flow started that day and lasted for almost 5days and then i had unprotected sex on the 23rd of may,can i possibly get pregnant again when i haven’t seen my period
Hi Jane, pregnancy is possible after abortion if you have had sex. Also, abnormal periods are also seen after abortion. So you should take a pregnancy test to check if you are pregnant or not
I had a surgical abortion on the 2nd of May; I was three weeks pregnant…I feel completely normal but my periods are missing…and I have all the signs of getting them but they are not coming. My breasts are not in pain, I am not feeling nauseous, no any kind of pregnancy sign but yet I am not getting my periods and it is freaking me out.
Don’t worry about your delayed period – in most instances, a menstrual cycle is expected within 4 to 8 weeks after an abortion.
PURITY ML
I had a surgical abortion on 17th March 2016 and the bleeding lasted for 10 days and had sex 2 days after the Ps .I had my second menses on 19th April 2016 which lasted for 9 days this month on 14th May ther were som traces oF blood in the morning which disappeared For two days but resumed on the 16th and it was heavy For three days up to 19th this was aFter I had a bath in a dirty swimming pool and ever since the blood has just been coming out when I go to the toilet to pee and ther r traces like tissues when mixed with water in the toilet bow..
Hello Purity, Abnormal periods after abortion is possible but what you are telling could also be because of infection, please visit your doctor for a peace of mind.
I had an abortion on the 10th of April, after 3days of the abortion, blood started coming out on d 13th of April, now is 29 of may and have not seen my period. I had unprotected sex, could I be pregnant? Plss am desperate
Hello Temitope, normally one may get periods within 6-8 weeks of abortion, if you are having symptoms of pregnancy, take a pregnancy test to check.
I’ve done my termination on the 27 of April, this month I was 9 weeks and haven’t had my period since then…
I terminated on the 28th April I was 5 weeks, I also haven’t got my periods. They say 4-12 weeks so I guess it’s normal.
Hi. I saw my period exactly one week after terminating a pregnancy. Which was between 22nd April to 29th April. It was heavy flow and few clots came out. Fast forward to this month,on the 24th my period started heavy as normal for the first day but was a light blood and looked brownish to me. Today is 26th and I have little or no blood in my sanitary towel. Is this a normal period? Do I have any reason to be scared? P.S the pregnancy was 3 weeks old.
Hello. No, do not be scared, it is normal for your period and cycle to change after an abortion.
Hi, I had an abortion on the 7th of April 2016 and my period has still not come.
Your period may not come until another four to eight weeks.
Hi I had an abortion last year on the 10th of October and started skipping my periods for a month then after a month I would experience my cycle again. Now it has been two months without periods and when I do the PT results, it says I am negative. Did the abortion affect me somehow? What should I do from here because I am still experiencing some more womb aches, backaches and pain during sex? You can also email me the response I would appreciate that.
I had my medical abortion on 25th March 2016 and bleeding continued until 28th April. When I saw my doctor on the 25th of April, she said I was negative on pregnancy so that meant that I had gone in my next menstrual cycle. It ended on 28th April and it has not shown up again since then. We use condoms for protection. Could I be pregnant again? Am still feeling a little nauseous and some other preg signs. I tested negative last night on a home test but am so worried and stressed. Is missing periods normal after an abortion?
If you’re practicing safe sex than your chances of getting pregnant would be low. It is normal to have missed periods after an abortion. It is typical for a period to return at least 8 weeks after an abortion.
Hello, I am Carol. I was three weeks pregnant and I had to have an abortion on April 28th. I didn’t bleed at all but I passed out some blood clots and no cramps at all. Today is 25th of May and I have not seen any periods but I feel to vomit every time I smell something. Does it mean that I am still pregnant?
Hi Carol. Did you have a medical abortion? If you did then you must consult your doctor to ensure that the procedure was complete and you’re no longer pregnant. If you did the procedure on your own with pills then you should get a medical check-up to verify if you’re still pregnant.
I was 5 weeks pregnant and had an abortion on I think the 22nd of March, its now the 25th of May and I’ve had no period and also I only bled for about two days after my surgical abortion. So it’s coming on 9 weeks now since abortion with no period, should I see a doctor?
Hi Katie, normally women have their periods in 4-8 weeks after abortion but since you have had almost 9 weeks delay, yes you should visit your doctor.
I had an abortion January 29th I was 13 weeks pregnant. I’ve had only two periods since then, they were shorter and lighter than normal. But I’m a week late this month, I’ve taken four pregnancy tests and they’ve all been negative. Could I be late because of the abortion, or could I possibly be pregnant again?
It seems you’re not pregnant based on the tests results. An abortion is known to disrupt the menstrual cycle so your body may be adjusting to these changes.
Hi, my wife had a medical termination of an almost 4-month pregnancy on 23 rd of March 2016. After that next month periods didn’t come. So it was induced by medicine and periods resumed on 12th May 2016 which had brownish blood and lasted for 4 days with pain. But again she had spotting on the 23rd of May 2016 with abdominal and back pain. She is usually depressed and in stressed about losing our baby. Also, we had unprotected sex after 2nd day of her period which ended inside. Also, physical exertion is there for her as she is standing. Is there any chance of getting pregnant again? Is her menses are normal?
Don’t worry about your delayed period – in most instances, a menstrual cycle is expected within 4 to 8 weeks after an abortion. It is very important that you give yourselves time to heal both emotionally and physically before you try to conceive again. Physical recovery after a miscarriage is quick and takes only a few days. After about a month, her body will be working normally and her menstrual cycles will begin once again (after a few months). It is possible to become pregnant during your first menstrual cycle after her miscarriage or abortion. Don’t lose hope.
Hi, i had an abortion in April 14. It was 8 weeks-4days. I had bleeding for almost 3 weeks straight and than it stopped, on the 4th week (exactly one month after) i got my first period, but it has been 12 days now and i am still on my period. It s not heavy bleeding, but it makes me so tired. Is this normal?
Hello Brenda, first period could be difficult after abortion, it happens normally with people. but if you continue to bleed for few more days please consult your doctor.
Good day, I had my menses on 12th of March 2016 and the next month it should have come on the 8th of April but it didn’t. I went for a pregnancy test on the 12th which the result is positive. I had an abortion on the 18th of April and until now I haven’t seen my menses. Please tell me what is going on.
Good day. It is normal for a period to be delayed after an abortion. It may take at least 4 to 8 weeks before a period will return after an abortion. Continue to practice safe sex and wait for it to come.
I had an abortion the week before April. So near the end of the month of March. My first period started on my ovulation date (the 28th) which was weird to me. My second has not come yet. I’m nearly three days late. It’s the 30th of May and I’ve had unprotected sex. Could I possibly be pregnant? I’ve had an abortion for personal reasons because of my family. My boyfriend and I are capable of taking care of a child, money isn’t a problem either. Even though we want one were not really trying either were just like whatever happens, happens and we’ll be prepared.