Expert: Pat G - 9/22/2009

Question
I had an abortion about two months ago.I didn't have complications after the procedure but now I'm having dark brown discharge atleast once a day for about a month...I been taking birth control pills for about three weeks. I also feel bloated like if I'm on my period most of the time .. Is this normal?

Answer
Hi, Mary,

There is nothing normal about getting an abortion, and no telling what it did to you. That said, if you are getting dark brown discharge, it may be old blood, which may suggest you have an injury of some kind in your uterus. That's not uncommon. As for the bloating, if that started with you taking birth control pills, it could be a consequence of that. If it is of longer standing, it may be related to the injury. In any case, abortion disrupts a woman's hormones, so all bets are off anyway. You probably should have a doctor check you out. That's the only way I know of that you can get to the bottom of this. Nobody will be able to tell you anything over the internet, not even a doctor. But I think you are really asking if you should see a doctor about it. I would say, Yes. You might want to seriously consider abstaining from sex for awhile rather than using birth control, simply because your body may be reacting in adverse ways to the birth control, and there may be a significant health risk there. If you are married, obviously, you won't want to abstain for too long. However, a much safer method of dealing with the desire not to get pregnant is to learn how to tell when you are fertile. You will have to discontinue the birth control and wait for it to get out of your system, so you should abstain during that time. Please be aware that any penetration of any opening in your body can cause a nasty disease, so look for other ways to express affection in the meantime. To use fertility detection to prevent birth, you will need to chart faithfully. For more information, go here: http://www.fertilityuk.org/

If you are not married, having sex isn't in your best interest in general, as you are finding out. You have already had an abortion because of it, and abortion is dangerous. There are other long term consequences, some of which don't show up for years. And you can also get a nasty disease if your partner has ever slept with anyone else. You can also get a sexually transmitted disease from the abortion itself, so you should probably be tested. The reason is that a lot of abortionists don't sterilize their instruments properly, if at all.

So please get checked out. Let me know what you find out, and how you do. Take care.