Expert: Dr. Harriet Johnson - 9/2/2009

Question
I had a surgical abortion on July 09. I was seven and a half weeks pregnant. Everything went fine, I think. I got my period about five weeks after the procedure and when my period finished, I went back on my birth control that Sunday, which was August 16. (Before my period started I had no bleeding at all except a small amount for about a week after the procedure). Since I started taking the pill again I have spotting/breakthrough bleeding every day. Today is September 2 and I still have the bleeding. Its very minimal though, not enough for even a panty liner. Two weeks after my abortion I went to my regular gyno for my follow up appointment. All he did during the appointment was a manual exam. No pregnancy test, ultra sound, nothing else. It was painful when he was performing the exam but he said if I'd had an infection it would have been much more painful. I'm nervous that I may have an infection or something because of this bleeding. Is it normal for me to be spotting or having breakthrough bleeding like this, even for a few weeks? I'm due for my period again in four days. Another importance piece of information here is that I had a medical abortion seven months ago, but there were no complications with that.

Would it be obvious if something was wrong? I never had any excessive bleeding initially and like I said before, its been very light these past few weeks but I'm still worried. Any suggestions or thoughts? Thank you very much.

Answer
Hi Natalie,

It is not normal to have spotting or bleeding this long after an abortion. But it could be linked to the birth control you are taking. Check your temperature, if it is higher than 100.5 it can indicate infection. Bleeding for this length of time can also indicate an incomplete abortion(when tissue is left behind), which if left untreated can make you very sick. I suggest you go to your doctor and have another examination/ultrasound to rule out incomplete abortion. Since you have not had heavy bleeding, it rules out other problems. The only thing it could be is infection or incomplete abortion. Otherwise it could just be that you bled a bit longer or it is connected with the birth control you are taking. Good luck!