Expert: Pat G - 2/23/2010

Question
HI,
I had an abortion on Thursday I was 14 weeks pregnant and I had sex with my partner 4 days after.It was protected but I wasn't given antibiotic pills is there anything I should be worried about....

Answer
Hello, Allison,

Your question was in the question pool rather than addressed specifically to me, and I just saw it.

You are at risk of getting an infection, and it could be a sexually transmitted disease. You should be tested thoroughly. If you got another type of infection, you may know about it by now, but an STD may not make itself known for quite awhile. If you don't want to get pregnant or catch an STD, you really should stop having sex. It is not in your best interests. Condoms don't prevent STDs, either, especially certain ones. For example, the virus that causes HIV infection is only 1/50 of the diameter of normally occurring holes in a condom. If your partner has slept with anyone else, you are at risk. And as you probably know, infections like HIV don't show up for months. Another danger is pelvic inflammatory disease. This is often caused by infection, and it can cause pain and infertility. Antibiotic pills also won't protect you from some diseases, such as the ones caused by viruses or fungus. They only deal with bacteria. And they can destroy beneficial bacteria in your intestines, so it's not necessarily a bad thing you're not taking any. 14 weeks is late for an abortion, and it is much more dangerous, and there could be long term consequences. You will be more prone to get breast cancer, and it could also harm your future children. I can give you more details if you like.

Please take better care of yourself. Have a doctor test you thoroughly, and please let me know how you do.