Expert: Diane Cheryl - 6/16/2008

Question
QUESTION: I had an abortion on May 24, 2008 and i was wondering if I could get pregnant from having sex today, June 13, 2008. It's been about 4 weeks and I wanted to know if I should've waited a little longer to have sex.

ANSWER: Hi Jakeia,

I love your name and thanks for your question. You could possibly be pregnant. Even if you had "Protected" sex, there is no 100% guarantee that you will not get pregnant if you are sexually active. Are you going to try to use some method of birth control or have you thought of abstinence if you are not married and want a child. Please ask a followup question or email me at DCHERYL51@yahoo.com
Did you have your post abortion appointment to get everything checked out? If you have any emotional or psychological problems after abortion, I can help with that also. Hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,
Diane Cheryl

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: well how long should i have waited to have sex? i cannot afford birth control right now.

Answer
Usually, it is recommended that you wait 2 to 3 weeks after an abortion to have sex. This is usually because of health reasons for your body. You can get pregnant after an abortion even before your next period. There is bleeding after abortion anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks and this is generally not your period.  You should have a period by 6 weeks after the abortion. Urine pregnancy tests can show a false positive up to 4-8 weeks after abortion. If you already had sex, then you will have to take a test eventually to confirm or deny a new pregnancy. You can get free advice at a pregnancy resource center. Call 1-800-395-HELP or go to http://www.optionline.org in U.S. If you live outside of U.S. then go to http://www.heartbeatinternational.org/worldwide_directory.asp
Hope this helps and let me me know if you need further assistance.
Oh, and if you can't afford birth control, can you use abstinence or try Natural Family Planning. You can go to http://www.allexperts.com and find Ramona on Natural Family Planning.

Sincerely,
Diane Cheryl