After an abortion: what is normal and when to call
Recovery is usually straightforward, and knowing what is normal makes the days afterwards much easier.
The first few days
- Cramping like period cramps, often for a day or two.
- Bleeding or spotting that comes and goes, sometimes for a couple of weeks.
- After the medicines, the heaviest cramping and bleeding usually come in the first hours and are heavier than a period.
- Most people are back to their usual routine the next day.
Call right away if
Call us, or get emergency care, if you soak through two or more large pads an hour for two hours in a row, have a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher that lasts more than 4 hours, or have severe pain that medication does not help. These are the warning signs in the FDA medication guide, and they are worth keeping somewhere you can find them.
Your follow-up
You have a follow-up to confirm the abortion is complete and that you are healing well. Keep it even if you feel fine. It is a short visit, and it is also where birth control gets sorted out.
When your period comes back
Expect your next period within about four to eight weeks. What surprises people is that your body can release an egg well before that period arrives, so it is possible to become pregnant again within a couple of weeks. If that is not what you want, start birth control now rather than later.
Birth control you can start
The clinic offers the pill, the Depo-Provera shot and the Nexplanon implant. Ask the doctor which of them can be started at your visit or your follow-up, and which one fits the next few years of your life rather than just the next few weeks.
How you feel afterwards
Relief, sadness, both at once, or nothing in particular: all of it is normal, and none of it needs explaining to anyone. If the feelings are heavy, or they do not lift, tell us. We would rather you call than sit with it alone.