How Soon Can You Get Pregnant After an Abortion
🚺 Pregnant after having had an abortion? — Take the Self Evaluation
- It is possible to become pregnant within your next menstrual cycle, right after an abortion.
- If you are holding a positive pregnancy test just after an abortion, it may be a false reading due to the pregnancy hormones still present in your body.
- Some women desire to have a baby soon after an abortion.
Pregnant After Abortion – Your Self-Assessment
Is this a personal matter to you right now? Answer three multiple choice questions about your current situation and receive an immediate evaluation.
Is It Possible to Become Pregnant Right After a Termination?
It is theoretically possible for a woman to become pregnant during her next cycle after the abortion.
However, following an abortion, it may take some time until your menstrual cycle returns to normal and your first ovulation happens. This is especially true in the case of medical abortions, which tend to throw your hormone levels out of balance.
- For more information, go to Risks and Side Effects of an Abortion.
False-Positive Pregnancy Test Just After an Abortion?
A few weeks after an abortion, the test may show a positive result even though you are not pregnant.
Some tests are very sensitive and respond to even very low levels of the pregnancy hormone ßHCG. In this case, a pregnancy test would show positive, because the ßHCG produced during pregnancy can still be detected in the woman's body for some time after an abortion.
This means that a standard test may give a positive reading for up to six weeks after an abortion, even though you are not pregnant. Digital tests are especially sensitive and, therefore, cannot be used within eight weeks of an abortion.
- ✅ Tip: if in doubt, make an appointment to see your doctor. Your physician can ascertain via ultrasound whether you are pregnant or not. In addition, your health professional can take two blood samples a few days apart to determine whether your level of ßHCG hormones is increasing.
- If your abortion procedure was six weeks ago, you can also take a home pregnancy test. You may find our Online Pregnancy Test helpful!
What Are the Risk Factors?
Apart from any practical or emotional concerns, you may also be worried about potential risk factors in becoming pregnant so soon after an abortion. But usually, there are no particular complications.
However, based on a Scottish study, it is believed that the risk of premature births may be slightly higher after surgical abortions compared to pregnancies that do not follow an abortion.
Note:
- Take advantage of your follow-up appointment (usually 1-2 weeks after the abortion).
- Your first ovulation marks the possibility of a new pregnancy.
No Period After Abortion?
Typically, the first period following an abortion occurs after four to six weeks. It can take some time, however, for the hormone balance and menstrual cycle to return to normal before the first period starts again. It is also possible that bleeding will be either heavier or lighter the first time after the abortion. Consult a physician if you have concerns or a missed period for an extended amount of time.
💬 Confide in your doctor about any questions you may have. You can also take advantage of our wide selection of free resources: FAQs About Unplanned Pregnancy. We care because you and your concerns matter!
⚖️ Pregnant and still unsure how to decide? Fill out our free Abortion Test here!
Desire to Have a Baby After an Abortion
During counseling, women frequently share about their desire for a baby immediately following an abortion. This may be you — but you are still unsure about your new pregnancy.
After an abortion, some women realize that they actually really want a baby. Paths usually open up, dismantling obstacles and making life with a baby a viable option.
- 💡Try our free Solutions Finder Test, geared specifically to your situation!
Pregnant After Abortion – Self-Evaluation
Are you presently dealing with this situation? Take the self-assessment by answering three multiple-choice questions, and an immediate evaluation will appear on your screen.
Repeat Pregnancy After an Abortion — Melanie's Story
"I honestly don't know what to do. My boyfriend and I have only been together for a few months, and he definitely doesn't want the baby because he thinks it is too soon. To him, abortion is the only option. I already had an abortion two years ago and regretted it immensely afterward. It weighed on me emotionally and haunted me for months.
Now, I'm considering it again, even though I had told him right away that I wanted to keep it and that abortion is not an option for me.
But I am afraid that I might become a single mom, even though I would not have any money worries. I have a steady income, etc.
I don't know what to do. If I went through with it, I doubt I could continue dating someone who asks me to do such a thing.” *
This is how Melanie* described her situation during a Profemina counseling session. Does her story resonate with you in some way?
(*The name was altered to protect her privacy)
Tips on Where to Go from Here
You may have had an abortion recently, or at some point in the past. This has been a hard road for you to travel! You had weighed up the situation and the implications and finally decided to take that step. More than anything, you probably just want to have time to yourself in order to come to terms with what has happened.
But now you are (possibly) pregnant again and many questions may rise back to the surface:
- Take time to let this news sink in. Allow yourself the time you need to avoid making a knee-jerk reaction.
- You may find it helpful to share about this new situation with someone you trust.
- ⚖️ Wondering how to decide? - Fill out our free Abortion Test!
- ⛑ Wondering where to go from here? Take the First Aid Test!
- 💪 You have what it takes! Use the Strengths Finder Test to find out what your unique strengths are.
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FAQs
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It is possible to get pregnant within the following menstrual cycle if ovulation takes place. But it may take a while for your cycle to resume, especially if you had a medicinal abortion. In rare instances, abortion may cause infertility. Sometimes the desire for a baby surfaces immediately following an abortion. If a baby had been part of your life plan all along, don't allow external pressures to affect your decision. Take sufficient time to think it through!
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In rare cases, abortion can cause infertility. Even though this is uncommon, it is shattering to those affected - because many women, who pursue abortion, desire to have children one day.
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Pregnancy hormone levels may remain elevated within the weeks following an abortion. Therefore, a pregnancy test may still be able to trace the pregnancy hormone ßHCG.
Of course, a new pregnancy could also cause the test to react. If you are unsure, see your medical provider.