What Are The Chances Of Pregnancy Right After An Abortion?

Many women wonder whether they can conceive after getting an abortion.

The short answer is yes if the procedure was professionally done, but probably not if it was performed by an unlicensed quack.

Perhaps the more pertinent concern should be how soon you can get pregnant after having an abortion and whether it’s possible to conceive right after. Read below as we put that question into perspective.

What Are the Chances of Conception After an Abortion

Having an abortion typically doesn’t impact your fertility. Therefore, you can expect to get pregnant, provided that you’re within childbearing age.

Knowing how to identify the signs of pregnancy after abortion is key in determining whether you’ve conceived after getting the procedure done. More on that in the subsequent sections.

It’s also worth noting that the chances of getting pregnant following an abortion are high, regardless of the type of abortion method used. The only difference is that certain methods may predispose you to pregnancy complications, leading to stillbirths, pre-term births, or difficult births.

And as mentioned, the success of an abortion ultimately depends on who performs it.

How Soon Can You Conceive After An Abortion?

After an abortion, it’s possible to get pregnant within your first ovulation cycle. This may be as soon as two weeks later.

Ovulation occurs when an egg is released from the ovary. This usually happens around the fourteenth day of a 28-day menstrual cycle.

However, not all women follow a 28-day menstrual cycle. The period may be slightly shorter or longer, affecting how soon they can conceive following an abortion.

How far your pregnancy had gone prior to terminating it also impacts the duration before ovulation starts after an abortion. For more advanced pregnancies, ovulation and menstruation may be delayed for a few weeks longer until the pregnancy hormones subside from your system.

Types of Abortion

Abortion falls into two distinct categories, namely Medical and Surgical.

Medical abortion involves the use of certain medications to terminate the pregnancy. It has a high success rate for pregnancies still in the first trimester. Commonly used drugs include mifepristone and prostaglandin, which studies have shown have an impressive success rate of 99%.

Meanwhile, surgical abortion involves the termination of a pregnancy using medical-grade surgical tools. The method, also called dilation and curettage (D&C), is preferable for pregnancies that are beyond the first trimester.

Are There Risks Of Infertility After An Abortion?

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has since established that getting an abortion doesn’t impact your fertility.

But as you’re about to find out, it can significantly affect your ability to carry a healthy pregnancy.

Are There Risks Of Complications After An Abortion?

The risks of complications after an abortion are surprisingly minimal.

A study that sampled 54,911 women who had procured abortions found that a paltry 2.1% experienced some complications. Even more reassuring is that only 0.23% of the cases were severe.

Most women who develop complications due to previous abortions typically experience preterm deliveries, low birth weight, placental retention, heavy postpartum bleeding, and cervical insufficiency.

In rare instances, a person may develop Asherman syndrome. This is a condition marked by the scarring of the uterine wall, significantly reducing your ability to conceive.

To minimize the risks of complications from previous abortions, it’s best to end a pregnancy as early as possible. Multiple findings suggest that post-abortion pregnancy complications are higher for pregnancies that were terminated farther along.

The method used to terminate a pregnancy also impacts the likelihood of future birth complications.

Generally, medically induced abortions are safer than surgical ones. However, this might also be due to the fact that medical abortions target pregnancies within the first trimester.

Minimizing Complications After Having an Abortion

The decision to terminate a pregnancy is often difficult to make. So, it’s unsurprising that not all abortions happen within the first trimester.

If you procured an abortion after the first trimester, it’s best to wait until the bleeding stops before engaging in penetrative sex.

Bleeding from an abortion typically lasts two weeks. Again, the actual duration will depend on how far along the pregnancy is.

Some doctors also recommend waiting until the end of your first menstrual cycle before having sex. Having sex too soon can lead to an infection of your reproductive system, predisposing you to future pregnancy complications.

How Can You Avoid Pregnancy After An Abortion?

Abstinence is the most effective way to avoid getting pregnant after an abortion. But this only makes sense if you’re not in a committed relationship.

If you’re engaged or married, you can consider contraceptives.

According to ACOG, most contraceptive methods are safe for people who’ve recently had abortions. Those include morning-after pills and intrauterine devices.

What If You Had Unprotected Sex Sooner?

Having unprotected sex only has one logical outcome: a pregnancy.

If you had sex without contraception, it’s best to take a pregnancy test.

However, note that the test may give a false positive result if performed shortly after procuring an abortion. That’s due to the high levels of reproductive hormones in the bloodstream, particularly the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).

hCG can take up to three weeks to revert to baseline levels. That corresponds with the duration before a home pregnancy test can produce an accurate result.

If you suspect you’re pregnant shortly after an abortion, your best bet is to visit a doctor or gynecologist.

The medic will perform a blood test to validate the results from your home pregnancy test. A blood test confirms if there’s an actual pregnancy or if the false positive was due to high hCG levels. If need be, the doctor may perform an ultrasound as well.

But even before you get to the nearest clinic, there are tell-tale signs of pregnancy to watch out for. These include;

• Missed period
• Breast tenderness
• Unexplained fatigue
• Sensitivity to certain tastes and smells
• Nausea and vomiting

NOTE: There shouldn’t be an alarm if you choose to continue and complete the pregnancy. 

Wrap Up

It’s possible to get pregnant as soon as two weeks after an abortion. That corresponds with the period it often takes for ovulation to resume.

However, since the menstrual cycle is unique for each individual, some women may take slightly longer or shorter to conceive.

The type of abortion performed and how far along your pregnancy was prior to terminating it also determines the duration before your ovulation resumes.

Unless you’re in dire need to conceive, it’s best to delay unprotected sex for at least one menstrual cycle.