Expert: Pat G - 7/22/2011

Question
I had an abortion 6 weeks ago. The doctor told me that I shouldn't have sex/insert anything into my vagina until 2-3 weeks later.
3 weeks later, I had both protected and unprotected sex. The unprotected sex was unexpected, and he pulled out a few minutes before he finished.
I understand I may be pregnant again, but in the off-chance that I'm not, is my late period something I need to get checked out, or is it just my hormones at play? My periods are usually irregular and I was not prescribed birth control after my abortion.

Answer
Hello, Nicole,

There are several things I can tell you that might be useful. First of all, it doesn't prevent pregnancy to pull out early. One drop is all it takes, and many men release a drop well beforehand. Also, protection doesn't work. It only delays things, sometimes.  Birth control is also bad for a woman's body, so I don't encourage it. If you don't want to have a baby right now, the only truly reliable way to prevent it is to stop having sex. If you are not married, having sex isn't in your best interest anyway. So have a talk with your partner about this. He owes it to you to respect your body.

I am assuming from the instructions the doctor gave that you had a surgical abortion. Is that the case? How far along were you?

A woman's hormones are disrupted by any abortion, and it isn't that uncommon not to have a period for weeks afterward. If you are concerned about it, it would be reasonable to go to the doctor.

Unfortunately, there are long term consequences to any abortion. It makes a woman much more susceptible to breast cancer and auto-immune disease such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. It can also have serious emotional consequences. An abortion can also kill a woman, or cause her to become seriously disabled, prevent her from having a child in the future, or make a woman more prone to have a very premature birth. Such an early birth is a leading cause of some fairly significant birth defects. So if you are pregnant again, please don't have another abortion. You deserve better.

There are organizations in Virginia that will help you if you are pregnant again, or can give you a referral to a decent doctor. Do not go back to the person who did the abortion. He cannot be trusted. He won't want to admit it if something went wrong and that's why you aren't having a period. Abortion in a healthy woman with a healthy pregnancy is bad medicine and it's unethical. But to find an organization near you, please go to this web site:

http://www.optionline.org/

Please take care, and let me know how you do. I will be here any time you have further questions or need to talk.