Expert: Pat G - 5/9/2011

Question
hi i had an abortion on April the 7th and i put the nuva ring on the 11th an had unprotecterd sex with my husband on the 3rd week then i took it out when i supposed to and on the fourd week i did not have my period i'm confused because i thought that i should had had my period regulized due to the nuva ring? i am so scared that i got pregnat agian.

Answer
Hello, sillak,

Since you are married, why are you afraid of pregnancy? Are you experiencing difficulties you need help with? There are resources available.

After an abortion, the hormones take awhile to return to their pre-pregnant balance. It is not likely you got pregnant from sex on the third week because it often takes longer for fertility to return. In addition, the hormones in the NuvaRing are going to affect your hormonal balance, and that plus abortion will mean all bets are off. You can also miss a period because of stress, or if your eating habits change (becoming a vegan, for instance), or if you exercise too much. So there can be a variety of reasons.

Are you ever planning on having children in the future? If you are, you need to refrain from having abortions, because they can harm your future children, especially surgical abortions. Nobody knows what effect pill abortions have on future children. (And, if you had a pill abortion, there's another reason your hormones might be completely out of balance.) If you are not planning on having children, it would probably be better for your body to have your tubes tied. I don't think that is a wise thing to do for a number of reasons, but repeat abortions just damage a woman's body further. If you are pregnant again, I want to discourage you heavily from having another abortion. Abortion is very dangerous, and can kill you or seriously harm you. If you abort your first pregnancy, you greatly increase your chance of getting a particularly deadly form of breast cancer. This form kills 1/4 of its victims. Do not get mammograms. Get a regular thermogram, because this cancer can strike while a woman is still young. You should take Vitamin D3 the rest of your life. A good dose is 5000IU, but you will have to have your blood tested to make sure you're not getting too much. An abortion will also increase your chance of developing an auto-immune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis.

At this point about all you can do is wait and see if you are pregnant. It will probably take several weeks to know for sure. You can start testing any time. Test weekly for at least two weeks. If you are pregnant, the test will be a stronger positive the second time, but weaker if you're not. The NuvaRing may confuse the test. For more details specifically about your particular situation, please see a doctor.

I hope things work out for you. Please do not be afraid of pregnancy. Sex is for starting babies as well as causing bonding in marriage. Pregnancy is rarely much of a problem; if you are healthy, you can do pretty much what you want. Women also often exaggerate the difficulty of giving birth. We were made to give birth. There are ways to make it as rewarding as possible. If you are afraid of raising a child, please feel free to let me know what is bothering you. Since I have raised seven, you are welcome to pick my brain. If you simply don't want a child, even though you are married, adoption is an option, and much safer for you.

Take care, and keep in touch.