Expert: Pat G - 10/20/2009

Question
how soon after an early abortion can I get pregnant?  I had an abortion at 5 weeks pregnant because I was so sick and had already been sick for 2 wks and 3 days before getting the abortion.  I was throwing up until the blood vessels in my eye broke, my back hurt so bad I couldnt walk.  I am 34 years old and we want to have a child, but the severity of the symptoms were too much for me.  we want to try again, How soon can I expect to start trying again.

Answer
Donna,

My heart goes out to you. I wonder why the doctor didn't help with this problem. There are drugs that doctors will give that don't harm the baby, but control the nausea. Obviously, if you had that problem once, it could happen again. I have some suggestions. Make sure you are getting good nutrition going in. Make sure you are getting enough protein. If you are a vegetarian, I urge you to get some animal protein (meat, eggs, milk or cheese), because it's very hard to get adequate protein on a strictly vegan diet, even if you know about food combining. Make sure you are getting adequate vitamins, as well. Do you have blood sugar imbalances? This could contribute, because hypoglycemia can cause nausea and vomiting. Protein helps keep the blood sugar more even, because it digests more slowly. Another thing that helps is the pectin in apples. There are herbs that will help these things; you can learn about them by doing research online. Stay away from artificial sweeteners and monosodium glutimate, and reduce carbs. For sweetening, use Stevia or Agave nectar.

Probably the best remedy for nausea and vomiting is sipping ginger ale or ginger tea. I had an operation, and the doctor advised me I would be unable to eat for a day because of this problem. So I asked for a ginger ale, and put the contents of a capsule of ginger into it. (Be sure and drink some first or pour it into a glass that is bigger than the volume of the drink, otherwise, it will foam allovertheplace). I was eating in something like four hours and never had a speck of trouble. Other remedies that people have recommended include eating a cracker before getting out of bed, and eating watermelon. But I'll put my money on the ginger.

At your age, getting pregnant is going to be more difficult. I don't know how recently you had the abortion, but I'm guessing it was just in the last few days. Give your body some time to recover. I'm thinking (and this is just my opinion), wait until you see signs you are fertile, and then start trying, but ask your doctor for sure before doing anything. You can learn to tell when you are fertile. You have to chart, and you cannot be using any hormones. For more information, go here:

http://www.fertilityuk.org/

That way, you can time your actions for maximum chances.

Another thing is that having an abortion will increase the risk for a future pregnancy. You should be aware that surgical abortion causes the cervix to be weakened, so that it cannot hold the weight of a full term baby. This leads to miscarriage or very premature birth, and very premature birth can cause some fairly significant neurological problems in the baby. The remedy is for the doctor to fasten the cervix shut until time for birth. At the time of birth, two conditions will increase the risk: placenta previa, and prolonged labor. If you had a pill abortion instead, I can't tell you much because the risks to future pregnancies and birth have not been studied. Having a surgical abortion can also cause infertility. So I hope and pray that having an abortion this time won't increase your problems.

Good luck! Let me know what happens.