Expert: Pat G - 2/10/2010

Question
Can doctors or hospitals tell wether it was a clinical abortion and not a miscarriage?

Answer
Hello, sara,

Miscarriage happens when a woman's pregnancy hormones decline. The baby dies, and this means the hormone levels decay over time. Or, the hormones decline beforehand, and miscarriage occurs. On the other hand, often after an abortion, pregnancy hormones remain high for several weeks. So if they test hormones, they may figure out what happened. As you may be aware, there are two kinds of abortions. With a surgical abortion, there may be other signs as well. With a pill abortion, the hormone balance is altered in an unnatural way. If you are concerned that you have had an abortion, and the doctor may be able to tell, certainly your concern may have some basis. A lot also depends on how long it has been since a woman had an abortion. As hormone levels return to normal, it may be increasingly difficult to tell. But if the abortion causes damage, this would be an indication. Also, doctors may be able to tell by testing a woman's blood for embryonic stem cells. The baby releases these throughout pregnancy. The DNA in the cells would be different from that of the mother. Also, these cells would be neither red blood cells nor white blood cells. However, I am not aware that this is any kind of routine test. It is possible that a person looking at a sample of the woman's blood through a microscope might see the different cells as well.

In short, I don't think there is any guarantee that doctors won't find out. Sometimes they don't, but sometimes they do.

It is never a good idea to have an abortion to conceal a pregnancy from anyone. There is too much of a chance that it will be revealed anyway, such as when a woman has a complication or dies from the abortion. Complications are frequent. If a woman is a minor, her parents will end up paying for the medical care required, or in some cases, they will be asked to come identify their daughter's body.

Regardless of whether anyone else can tell or not, the woman herself will know she had an abortion. Sooner or later, this means the truth may come out. If nothing else, it often changes a woman's behavior, and people around her notice. If abortion makes a woman sterile, others may learn about it that way, or if she has miscarriages or very early births. If a woman does become pregnant after a surgical abortion she should TELL her doctor, so he can take steps to prevent miscarriage or very early birth. Both should also be vigilant because of the increase in tubal pregnancies. These are life-threatening and require emergency surgery.

If you are thinking of having a pill abortion, don't. There are several ways a pill abortion can kill a woman, sometimes within hours. The second medication given is given contrary to the manufacturer's instructions, which says a pregnant woman should never take it. It can cause contractions so severe they rupture a woman's uterus, it can cause fatal hemorrhage, and it can cause toxic shock syndrome, which kills so fast they don't even have time to diagnose the problem, let alone treat it. The first medication given can also kill a woman all by itself. Between the medications, a woman is sent home, and if she develops a complications, she's on her own.

I hope this helps. If you have further questions, feel free to ask.