By: Claire
Abortion With Pills And Future Fertility
For anyone considering an abortion with pills, it’s common to wonder about future fertility. Will an abortion make it harder to get pregnant later? Will an abortion lead to birth defects or complications in the next pregnancy? Today we tackle these common questions.
The short and definitive answer is no, an abortion will not make it harder to get pregnant later in life. Medical abortion won’t impact the risk, health, or viability of future pregnancies, either.1 In fact, when women have a safe abortion with pills, they can have as many abortions as needed without any increased risk to future fertility.2
But at HowToUse, we work to share more that just the short version. It’s important to us that our users understand the why behind the answer. We think healthy choices come from informed decisions. Let’s look a little closer at our answer by sorting through the details.
How Does An Abortion With Pills Work?
To explain why an abortion with pills won’t affect future fertility, let’s first recap how an abortion with pills works.
The two safe abortion drugs are called mifepristone and misoprostol. These two pills are used to terminate a pregnancy by blocking the production of important pregnancy hormones and causing the uterus to contract.
Once a woman uses the abortion medications, she will experience cramping and bleeding within a few hours. This is normal- it is the body’s process of expelling the early pregnancy. All in all, an abortion with pills will terminate a pregnancy in almost the exact same manner as a natural miscarriage.
The abortion pills do not permanently change a woman’s reproductive system in any way; they also work in a very limited time frame. This is why an abortion with pills will not impact future fertility or pregnancies.
True- there are risks that come with any medical procedure. But the risks involved with medical abortion are very small. Serious complications that require hospitalization occur in less than 0.4% of all cases.3
Knowing how to use the pills safely is essential for anyone considering an abortion with pills. It’s also important to understand what to expect after a medical abortion, and what warning signs of complication look like. HowToUse is here to ensure all of that information is accessible and clear, whether you’re visiting our site, or following us on social media: Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
When Can I Get Pregnant Again After Having An Abortion With Pills?
This one may surprise you: contrary to popular belief, women can get pregnant again almost immediately after having an abortion with pills, even if they’re still bleeding.4
It all comes down to a woman’s fertility cycle. Once a woman is no longer pregnant, her body may immediately resume it’s typical cycling. (In other cases, it might take a little time for the body to readjust. This is dependent on lots of factors, and varies from person to person.)
It is entirely possible for a woman’s body to release an egg (a process called ovulation) soon after the abortion. Ovulation is when a woman is most fertile, and if she has sex around this time, there is a chance of becoming pregnant. Therefore, if a person would like to avoid pregnancy in the near future, they can choose to immediately start a form of contraception after the abortion.
Want to learn more about contraceptive options? We’re big fans of www.FindMyMethod.org. Their site connects visitors with contraception that fits their personal needs, wants, and lifestyles. (And oh how we love their sex-positive social media: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.)
Want more information about fertility after abortion? Visit our site or email us: info@howtouseabortionpill.org.
Claire is a teacher, reproductive rights advocate, and the manager of https://www.howtouseabortionpill.org/