When can I have Sex after Abortion?

Dear Mahogany, when can I have sex after abortion?

I recently had my first D& C or what people call an abortion and I would like to start having sex again. I bled for a few days after the abortion but it was only slightly. Now that the bleeding has stopped, I don’t know if it is okay start having sex again? Is there anything I need to do before I start having sex again? It’s been almost two (2) weeks.

Seun, 23

Dear Seun,

Thanks for reaching out to us.

Having an abortion can be an emotional and physical ordeal that most people find hard to move quickly from, Now that you have moved past it, you may need to consider a few health facts and risks associated with recovering from an abortion.

An abortion can be carried out in multiple ways but the two most common methods are surgical which is usually by Dilation and Curettage (d & c) or medical which is simply taking an abortion pill like Mifepristone. The method of abortion depends on how old the pregnancy is. Both methods are considered safe when they are done correctly by  the right medical personnel.

If you had a surgical abortion, the doctor may give you some nutritional advice and tell you a bit of what to expect. If your doctor skipped the sex advice part, it may be a good idea to call him.

In the mean time, some of these facts about sex after an abortion may help you also:

Pregnancy Hormones

Because you were recently pregnant, you may still have some pregnancy hormones in you. This does not mean you will get pregnant right away, it just means your body is still drying to reset to normal.

This “reset” may have you feeling all sorts of things in the morning and maybe you may still have the morning sickness and other symptoms of pregnancy like tender, painful boobs.

Menstrual Cycle

Most importantly, what it also means is that your menstrual cycle may take a while to to get back to normal or it may not for a while. This means, unless you are trying to get pregnant again, if you do have sex, you may want to consider contraceptives too and the best one at this time would be a condom.

Why? Well because contraceptive pills like Postinor and Postpill are hormonal drugs and with the clash of hormones in your body now, you may want to stay away from those for now. Our bodies react differently to contraceptive even when it is in its normal state.

Infections

Another thing to consider are infections, like PID (pelvis inflammatory disease) and bacterial vaginosis. If you have either of these prior to the abortion, your doctor may ask you to get on a round of antibiotics to prevent the infection from spreading into your uterus. Other asymptomatic diseases too may be lying in wait, and you want to get tested and treated for any likely infection before you begin to have sex again.

More than any advice we can give you, the best advice would be to pick up the phone or walk into a clinic and seek medical advice from a gynecologist about sex after an abortion.

Love,

Mahogany.