Expert: Pat G - 4/5/2010

Question
I had an abortion about a week and a half ago (March 25th). About 2 days afterwards I stopped bleeding. I had sex that night and the next night then I started bleeding again. I never heard anybody say not to have sex, I just got a stack of papers and am just realizing I wasn't supposed top have sex. I started bleeding on and off. It just got heavy tonight. I am having slight cramps in my lower abdomen and slight back pain. It is nothing unmanagable yet. This all started happening tonight. I know now I probably should have waited longer to have sex. I just hope it's nothing serious. Im scared and cant get to a doctor for 2 more days

Answer
Hello, grayson,

First, let me settle something in my own mind. I thought Grayson was a guy's name. If you could explain that, it would help. Thanks!

What is wrong is that you had an abortion. Seriously. Abortion damages a woman's body.

It never ceases to amaze me how often an abortionist is totally negligent when it comes to explaining things to a woman. They ought to know that most women who get abortions are in a panic situation, and aren't going to be interested in reading a stack of papers. They (or their staff) ought to take the time to explain a few basic things to a woman. In fact, they should explain the consequences of having an abortion, but they don't, because if they did, they'd lose a sale. They don't care. All they care about is the money.

To address your concerns, there are a couple of things I need to explain. First, the primary reason for not having sex so soon after abortion is not heavy bleeding. It's the possibility of infection. The uterus is open and wounded, and infections can easily get directly into a woman's blood stream. This can wreak all sorts of havoc. In fact, a woman can get a sexually transmitted disease from a surgical abortion itself. The reason is because many abortionists do not sterilize their instruments properly, if at all. So a woman can get a disease from the woman on whom the instruments were used previously. In addition, when a woman's hormones are disrupted by an abortion (and this would be especially true of a pill abortion), she becomes much more susceptible because the pH of her fluids change for the worse. So the first thing you should do (and this can wait two days, generally speaking), is to get tested for various diseases. The exception to being able to wait two days is if you had a pill abortion and you inserted pills in your vagina. In that case, you need to be tested for Clostridium sordellii immediately. This is a bacterium normally present in some women's bodies, and normally it isn't a problem. But with a pill abortion, if a woman puts pills in her vagina, it can cause this to take over, and the woman's body doesn't fight back. As a result, a woman will die within hours of the appearance of symptoms. At that point, I know of no way to save her life. Even if she finds out beforehand that she has this organism, I still don't know of a way to save a woman's life, although there is more time and greater possibility. And just so you know, giving a woman those pills in the first place is malpractice, because the manufacturer says a pregnant woman should never take them. There are several other ways they can kill a woman.

Sex is what got you into the position where an abortion seemed reasonable in the first place. If you are not married, you would be wise to abstain from sex. "Protection" doesn't work. Neither does pulling out. There tend to be more birth control failures when the couple isn't married. So the only real way to avoid a repeat of the situation you were in is to stop having sex altogether until you are married. If you are married, having sex is reasonable, but so is having a baby. If you are having problems and you are married, there are organizations that are willing to help. They will also help if you aren't married and need help. There are such organizations all over the United States, and you can find one near you by going to this web site:

http://www.pregnancycenters.org/

You should NOT go back to the people who provided the abortion. They can't be trusted. Ask the local organization to refer you to a decent doctor.

Now about the bleeding. There are a couple of reasons why having sex would cause bleeding. The first is that it moves things around physically. The second is that a woman experiences certain hormones during and after sex, and these can have an effect. Heavy bleeding per se isn't that much of a problem, but prolonged heavy bleeding is, and so is hemorrhage. It is wise to be concerned. Keep a close eye on things. If you begin to hemorrhage, go to the emergency room. In the meantime, right now if possible, take some cayenne (herb) or eat some food with red hot peppers in it. Do this regularly until the bleeding subsides. If you had a surgical abortion, such bleeding may indicate you got an injury. This needs to be looked into. Heavy bleeding is a lot more common after a pill abortion, and can last for a very long time. Women are bleeding to death after a pill abortion. If you do experience a hemorrhage, it may slow down of its own accord, but it's still nothing to mess with. Get immediate medical help.

I hope this helps and you will be OK. Please take care of yourself, and let me know how you do.