April 24, 2023

Bloating After Abortion

Many women have abortions across the world for various reasons. However, it is hard for any woman to go through an abortion because it affects them both physically and mentally. If you are thinking of doing this procedure, you should know that your body will go through changes afterwards, and they might be difficult to cope with. Bloating is one of the things that you might experience, as most women get puffier than during their pregnancy. This article will tell you more about bloating after abortion.

Abortion Explained

This is a procedure that you can do to end a pregnancy. It can happen in different ways, including spontaneous, natural, and induced, and performed in ways such as intravaginal or oral pills, birth induction, or uterine curettage.

It is important to mention that abortion with pills, medication abortion, or medical abortion is different from the emergency contraceptive pills (also called morning after pills), which you can take up to three days after having unprotected sex.

Most abortions are performed under full or partial anesthetic. You can take painkillers if you have a medication abortion and did not go under anesthetic. Some women report that it’s helpful to use hot water bottle or drink something warm to relieve the pain.

Bloating after Abortion

Aside from the pain, you might have abdominal bloating or swelling after your abortion. These are very common symptoms of an abortion. Some of the swelling is quite normal and might last for three to eight days. This means that the bloating will start to go away around one week following the procedure and your abdomen returns back to shape. It’s not normal, however, to have swelling that is accompanied by chills, fever, tenderness, excessive bleeding, or severe cramping. You should contact your health care provider as soon as possible if you are experiencing any of these symptoms, because they might be a serious problem.

What Causes Bloating After Abortion

The main cause of bloating after an abortion is pregnancy and bleeding hormones. In addition to that, the bloating can be caused by pain medications, inactivity after the abortion procedure, and insufficient fluids. Even though bloating is not something to worry about, it’s possible that you might feel some discomfort and pain.

These are some of the ways that you can deal with bloating:

  • Staying hydrated
  • Drinking peppermint tea to relax the stomach muscles
  • Eating chewable gas tablets to get relief from extra gas

Recovery After Abortion

You will be transferred to a recovery unit after doing a surgical or vacuum abortion. While there, the nurses will check on your blood pressure and pulse often as well as do follow ups for any bleeding. It’s natural for you to have light to medium blood flow and even lumps of tissue inside the blood. Aside from that, you are likely to have contractions within the lower abdomen, but this will lessen in the first thirty minutes of recovery. Depending on the type of abortion, the anesthetic you were given, and how you are feeling, your stay in recovery could last for twenty minutes, one hour, or even longer.

It would be a good idea to have someone to take you home if the abortion was under anesthetic or sedation, because you won’t be allowed to drive. You will get prescribed antibiotics before going home to prevent infection and medication to reduce the bleeding. In addition, you will get information on what to expect during the following days, as well as symptoms that might indicate a problem.

In case you are wondering, it is okay to engage in sexual activities around two weeks to one month afterwards. This is after the vaginal bleeding stops, of course. It’s possible to get pregnant quickly after an abortion procedure, even before menstruation returns, so it is very important for you to use contraceptives. You could use most contraceptives after having an abortion.

Below are some of the emotional reactions that you might have:

It’s common for a woman to have certain feelings after an abortion, including strong ones. Most women feel depressed, angry, sad, tired, weak, or a sense of relief. These reactions are normally caused by abrupt changes in hormone levels. After this procedure, it is not uncommon for you to feel a sense of loss, as well as depression, anxiousness, or feelings of sadness or anger towards those you care about deeply. It will help these feelings greatly if you are able to talk to someone who is close to you. In the event that any of these reactions are disturbing to you or you feel like they are beyond your control, then you should ask your gynecologist or doctor to refer you to someone who can help.

Pregnancy symptoms, which include bloating, nausea, and breast tenderness, usually go away in one or two weeks after an abortion. You might still be pregnant and would have to visit your doctor if these symptoms continue.

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574 thoughts on “Bloating After Abortion

  1. Hello
    I had the medical abortion on 22 July(monday) and then on tuesday I took the misoprostol and had heavy cramps and bleed with large clothes. The next day I felt relieved of the pregnancy symptoms but with naf cramps, but on Friday I started having terrible bloating which I still have accompanied by back aches, and lower abdominal cramps. Am o still pregnant?

    1. Hi Treesh, since you were only a few days out from your abortion it quite possibly be because of the abortion itself. Bloating is normal. If at this point (nearly a month later responding to your comment) you should be feeling normal at this point. If not, see your doctor.

  2. Hi. I took 8 tablets misoprostol. I’m 19 weeks pregnant. I didn’t bleed at all. I only got a mild tummy pain and diarrhoea. My tummy is getting bigger. What should I do? I want to complete the abortion process.

    1. Hi Jennifer, if the medical abortion did not complete the cycle and you still want an abortion you would have to go see a doctor. At this point I would recommend that you see them anyway. Nearing the 24 week mark you are looking at the inability anywhere legally to have an abortion, and depending where you live it’s quite possible that you won’t be able to get one at this point. If you do not want to have the child, know that there is also the option of adoption. Still make an appointment with your doctor.

  3. Hi I’m Ann, I aborted 3rd week of may. I bled after an hour and continue after 2 weeks. All the symptoms of pregnancy were gone. But after 2 months I don’t have menstruation yet. When I use medic pregnancy kit it was negative. When i use cheap pregnancy kit, there is a faint line. Im bloated but i do not feel any sign of pregnancy. Does it mean I’m pregnant or what?

    1. Hi Ann, if you had sex during your fertile period after your abortion it’s absolutely possible that you could be pregnant again. I would recommend going to your doctor and have them run a blood test if you are getting conflicting results from your at home tests.

  4. Hello, I had a vacuum aspiration abortion on 3rd august, I bled lightly the first day, the bleeding stopped and it came again after one day which lasted for 5days. Today is the 15th august and I feel my stomach bloated and always feels like sleeping. What could the problem be, I am confused?

    1. Hi Yvonne, it could be possible that your cycle is regulating itself. Sometimes that happens after an abortion. However, if you had sex after having the abortion then it’s quite possible you are pregnant again. I would recommend a pregnancy test if that’s a possibility.

  5. Hi Yvonne, I had an abortion three days ago using surgical method but I had a slight bleeding and after it disappeared. Till now I haven’t seen any bleeding and then my stomach feels so bloated. what could be the problem? thanks.

    1. Hi, it’s possible that your body is still working on regulating itself. It can sometimes take up to 6 weeks for the body to get rid of all the hormones that are associated with pregnancy, which can lead to bloating. Some don’t bleed that much after a surgical abortion due to how far along they were, and because the surgery removes anything that has to do with being pregnant (other than the hormones). You should anticipate feeling back to normal after about 4-6 weeks. Give it time.

  6. Hello, I was 13 weeks pregnant when I had my abortion 6 days ago. I had gained 5 lbs. I still have not lost an ounce and I have been eating the same (I eat a very low carb diet to begin with as I had lost 90 lbs recently). So I don’t understand why I’m not losing yet. Is there a timeframe where you stay swollen and bloated from the pregnancy even after it has ended? Help me!

  7. Hi am Diana
    I had medical abortion on 16 of September and l bled for 5days after 1 week my stomach started bloating and l took antacid. Is it normal?

  8. I had abortion on 21st sept I bled not so much and on 25th the same month cramping came and I bled normal for 3 days . immediately after that my stomach is so bloated I feel full could I be still pregnant?

  9. I was 3 and half weeks pregnant and I had abortion I have been bleeding for 2weeks and I’m bloating too. I tested and it still shows positive. I’m still bleeding but it’s drop by drop

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