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.