Expert: Pat G - 1/26/2011

Question
Hi, I had an abortion on 12-30-10.I was 5 weeks along. I had sex on 1-19-11 and 1-22-11. We used the withdrawal method. I took the Next Choice pill on 1-24-11. My question is would I have been ovulating when I had sex and is it possible I am pregnant again? I have not had a period yet.

Answer
Hello, Kelly,

None of what you told me surprises me. First of all, if you don't want to get pregnant again, don't have sex. Withdrawal doesn't work, by the way. Neither does "protection". With withdrawal, all it takes is a single drop of semen to start a pregnancy, and lots of times, there is that single drop. Abortion disrupts a woman's hormones to start with. Nobody knows if you were ovulating on those dates (or within a couple of days). You then took a powerful hormone, and you didn't even know if you needed it or not. This is going to confuse the picture even further. It is also dangerous for you. It is common for a woman who has had an abortion not to have a period for awhile after she stops bleeding from the abortion. For one thing, she will have leftover pregnancy hormones, and as long as she does, she is not likely to ovulate. At this point, it's anybody's guess as to whether you are pregnant again. You need to wait three weeks from January 22, which would be mid-February, and then test for pregnancy. You then need to wait a week and test again. If your first test is positive, see if the second test is weaker.

Abortion is dangerous. It can kill you or cause serious health problems. A surgical abortion can harm a woman's future children. At this point, nobody knows what effect a pill abortion will have on future children. If this was your first pregnancy, especially, you are much more likely to get a particularly deadly form of breast cancer. You should take Vitamin D3 for the rest of your life. A good dose to start is 5000IU daily. You will need your blood tested periodically to make sure you're not getting too much. Do not get mammograms. They can cause or spread breast cancer. Get a regular thermogram instead. You will also be much more likely to get an auto-immune disease such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. At this point, I am unaware of a way to prevent this.

You deserve better than to harm your body in the way you are doing. If you are not married, have a talk with your partner, and ask that he respect your body and protect you from having to face another pregnancy. This means no sex until marriage. If you two love each other and plan to get married, perhaps you should go ahead and do so. If you are married, learn to tell when you are fertile, and accept any children you are given.

If you are pregnant again, there are organizations all over the United States that can help you with whatever problems you face. To find one near you, please go to this web site:

http://www.optionline.org/

The link to the lists is on the right.

Please take care and stay safe. Let me know what happens.