You are here:

Abortion/Excercise after Medical Abortion, pain and bleeding after abortion pill

Advertisement

Expert: - 8/6/2009


Question
Hi,

I took my second set of pills in my medical abortion on Sunday 8/02, on 8/05 I resumed my normal, fairly strenous workout regime.  After I suffered severe cramps and more bleeding than I had been experiencing, the cramps have not entirely gone away.  I would like to know whether this pain is just superficial or whether I am delaying the healing process in any way by continuing to exercise.  Additionally, wearing pads makes working out very difficult, when is the earliest I may wear tampons?

Thank you!

Answer
Dear Rachel,
It is common and normal to have cramping and bleeding after working out the first few times after any time of abortion, including the abortion pill.  It is fairly common for there to be blood, clots, and even somtimes a minimal amount of menstrual tissue (looks like white or brown paper wet paper towel) remaining in the uterus after the abortion.  When you exercise, your uterus is stimulated to contract (causing cramping), and this helps expel whatever is in your uterus.  There is nothing to be concerned about, in fact it's healthy.  You can go ahead and use tampons, but change them frequently.  If the cramping is persistent and doesn't respond to motrin, or continues after a few more work-outs, you should get an evaluation.
I hope this is helpful,
Doctor Joan
EarlyAbortionOptions.com
New York City

Abortion

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Doctor Early Options

Expertise

We are a group of family doctors who provide abortion care for over a decade. We can answer any health or medical related questions about early abortion, including the aspiration procedure, the abortion pill (RU486), or surgical abortion. We run a practice called Early Options, located in New York City: http://www.EarlyAbortionOptions.com. The practice is dedicated to making early abortion part of mainstream medical care. There are other family doctors around the United States who practice a similar approach to early abortion care: see http://www.EarlyAbortion.com. Please do not ask "private" questions so that other women can learn from your experience. Please tell me what country you are from so that we can better help you.

Experience

Experience in the area: We are all board certified family doctors who have special training in early abortion and reproductive health. Dr. Joan Fleischman is the founder of Early Options (earlyabortionoptions.com) dedicated to making early abortion part of mainstream medical care. Organizations: National Abortion Federation American Association of Family Physicians

Education/Credentials
Dr. Joan Fleischman, Founder M.D., Harvard Medical School M.P.A., John F. Kennedy School of Government

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.