Abortion Care

Abortion — whether surgical or medical, self-managed or clinician-supported — is safe. Post-abortion care typically involves resting and keeping yourself comfortable. Side effects are usually mild and pass relatively quickly, but complications are possible.

Common abortion side effects

Bleeding and cramps are typical after a medical or surgical abortion. Many people experience additional side effects, including nausea, sore breast or chest tissue, and vaginal discharge.

Bleeding

Everyone experiences different amounts of bleeding following their abortion. If you’ve chosen a medical abortion, you’ll probably experience most of the bleeding the day you take misoprostol. Medical abortion appears to causeTrusted Source more bleeding than surgical abortion, lasting an average of nine days.

Following a surgical abortion, you may not bleed much — or at all — the first few days. You may begin to bleed 3 to five 5 after, about as much as your usual menstrual period. Following a surgical abortion, you may not bleed much — or at all — the first few days. You may begin to bleed 3 to five 5 after, about as much as your usual menstrual period.

Pain and Cramps

Cramping is to be expected. It’s a sign that your body is expelling the pregnancy and returning your uterus to its prepregnancy size. Post-abortion pain is often stronger than typical menstrual cramps. If you’ve had a surgical abortion, your cramping may initially feel like menstrual pain before increasing in severity 3 to 5 days after the procedure.

Pain is the most commonly reported side effect of medical abortion, with 78.4% of people in a 2012 studyTrusted Source reporting moderate or severe cramping.

Other Side effects include:

• Breast or chest pain: Breast or chest tenderness may have begun before your abortion and may continue for a while after your abortion. For many people, it is the last symptom to go away.

• Discharge: It’s not unusual to experience a bit of mucus-like discharge ranging from red or purple to brown or blackish in color. Some blood may be apparent in the discharge.

• Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea: Gastrointestinal symptoms may last for about 24 hours following a surgical abortion or for a few days after taking abortion pills. If GI trouble lasts longer than that, you may want to follow up with an abortion-informed healthcare professional, but it’s likely not a sign of an emergency.

• Fatigue: As with any medical procedure, your body will probably require a little extra rest and downtime to recover. You may feel sleepy or have less energy than you usually do.

Complications

Severe complications from abortion are extremely rare, affecting no more than 2% of people who have abortions. The most common complications include incomplete abortions and infections. Here are some symptoms to watch out for:

• Prolonged heavy bleeding (defined as bleeding through two maxi pads per hour for two hours in a row, or one pad per hour for three hours in a row)

• Passing blood clots larger than the size of a lemon

• Severe pain or cramps, especially if the pain increases over time or doesn’t go away after taking pain medication

• Severe abdominal pain that doesn’t feel like uterine cramps

• Fever of 100.4ºF (38ºC) or higher

• Strong-smelling vaginal discharge

If you still feel any side effects associated with pregnancy more than 2 weeks after your abortion, or if you didn’t bleed at all after taking abortion medication, follow up with a healthcare professional. These could be signs of an incomplete abortion.