Expert: Pat G - 9/4/2009

Question
I had an abortion 2 weeks ago and my bleeding is fairly light. But every once in a while the bleeding will get very heavy and I'll pass a clot. The clots have been getting larger. I also experience mild cramping when it occurs. I was told that bright red blood is bad b/c that  means it's new blood but i thought it might be from the clots moving from where they were. I just wanted to know if this was normal or if I should be concerned enough to go see a doctor. Since it happens so often when I've been fairly active  I was wondering if that might be the cause of it.

Answer
Hello, Samantha,

You haven't said what kind of abortion you had. That's important. Also, I need to know how far along you were.

Red blood IS fresh blood. If you had a surgical abortion, it may indicate that you sustained an injury. The abortionist must cut the placenta loose anyway, and that leaves a raw, open wound. Eventually, scar tissue will form (which isn't good because it means this is a place where a future baby cannot implant, and that can lead to placenta previa, a dangerous complication at birth). If you had a pill abortion, you should watch the bleeding closely. Because it gets heavy, it can lead to hemorrhage, or eventually can weaken you otherwise. To guard against hemorrhage, it helps to get some cayenne (red hot pepper). Cinnamon also helps, to a lesser extent. But cinnamon should be by capsule. Sugar that goes with cinnamon in some food could aggravate bleeding. The reason clots concern me is because this would also tend to indicate either that there was something left in your uterus, or the blood isn't menstrual blood (it's coming from deeper within the body instead of the uterine lining). There is nothing normal about having an abortion. So you can't speak of whether what you are experiencing is normal. Is it common? With a pill abortion, I'd say definitely. With a surgical abortion, bleeding can go on for several weeks, especially if there is injury. While this is going on, your uterus is open to the outside world, and there is the danger of infection.

Being active causes a woman's uterus to contract, and it also tends to contract more when a woman is tired or has sex. A woman who is bleeding after abortion shouldn't have sex anyway. And a contracting uterus will bleed more, because it pushes blood out of the tissues. And of course, the mild cramping is the sensation of the uterus contracting.

By all means, if you are concerned about this, see a doctor. Don't go to the person who provided the abortion, but find someone else. Please let me know what you find out, and please take care of yourself.