RoboticDoes Abortion Affect Fertility?
If you have had an abortion, you may worry if it may affect your fertility. Medically, the term abortion may indicate a miscarriage or a planned termination of pregnancy. However, when people talk about abortion, they mean induced abortion. And thus, abortion in this article will mean an induced abortion.
In most cases, abortion doesn’t affect your fertility. However, some factors may increase your risk of infertility.
Let’s understand this in detail!
What are the risks of abortion?
Abortion is highly safe, and the mortality rate is less than 1 in 100,000.
Some risks associated with an abortion are:
- Incomplete abortion
- Bleeding
- Injury to surrounding organs
- Infection
In rare cases, a woman may have Asherman syndrome that may affect her fertility. In this condition, a surgical procedure such as D&C damages the uterine lining. The condition causes scarring in the uterine cavity, which increases the risk of abortion or problems getting pregnant in the future.
As mentioned before, the incidence of Asherman syndrome is extremely rare. And even when it happens, your doctor can remove the scarred area through surgery. They insert a balloon in the uterus to keep it open after surgery. Once the uterus is healed, the balloon is removed.
What is the outlook for conceiving after abortion?
As we discussed before, abortion usually does not affect your ability to conceive in the future. Also, it does not increase the risk of complications in future pregnancies.
Your doctor may advise using contraceptives after abortion as you can get pregnant when you resume ovulation. This helps in cases where you do not want to get pregnant immediately.
They may also recommend refraining from sexual activity for a few weeks following an abortion to give time to your body to heal itself.
If you are having difficulty getting pregnant after an abortion, there may be some other factors affecting your fertility. Some common factors include:
- Women older than 35 years
- A habit of smoking or drug use
- A medical history of sexually transmitted disease or infections
- Problems with your partner’s fertility
So, if you face difficulty getting pregnant, it is best to consult a gynecologist or a fertility specialist. They will help you find a problem and offer suitable options to manage them.
Final Thoughts
Abortion is a really safe procedure regardless of the approach. And getting an abortion does not affect your possibility of conceiving in the future. If you are having problems getting pregnant, it is best to consult your gynecologist.
