What Happens to Your Body After an Abortion?

Metro Women's Care
Jan 30, 2023
2 min read

You may be considering abortion but have many reservations at the same time. There are side effects to both medical and surgical abortion.

Though every woman’s experience with abortion is different, abortion can be described as painful to some and tolerable to others. It also depends on what type of abortion procedure you receive.

Is Abortion Painful?

While it’s impossible to know what abortion will feel like for you, the process is compared to intense menstrual cramps, contractions, and discomfort. An abortion procedure could be painful depending on some unique factors, including:

Your health (and any underlying medical conditions)
How far along the pregnancy is
Your pain tolerance
Emotions and stress level

Types of Abortion

Here is how each type of abortions works and what to expect after both a medical and surgical abortion.

1. Medical Abortion

Medical abortion is a two-step process, using mifepristone and misoprostol to block the pregnancy hormone and cause uterine contractions to expel the pregnancy out of the vagina.

This process can take 4-5 hours and can be painful, especially for women with a history of painful and heavy menstrual cycles. Other side effects of this abortion procedure could include:

Nausea
Vaginal bleeding
Abdominal cramping
Vomiting
Fever
Chills
Diarrhea
Headache

2. Surgical Abortion

Surgical abortion is a bit more invasive as it’s done later in pregnancy. If the pregnancy is more than 15 weeks along, your healthcare professional will use a combination of suction, curettage, and extraction with forceps to completely remove the contents of the uterus.

Normally women feel uterine cramping and experience bleeding right away. This may continue for several weeks. Other potential side effects include: