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Deciding to have an abortion – What you need to know

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Deciding to have an abortion can be one of the most difficult choices you’ll ever make, regardless of whether the pregnancy was a result of sex without a condom between sexual partners, rape or abuse.

Usually when a girl finds out that she is pregnant, she has one of three choices – to keep the baby; give the baby up for adoption or terminate the pregnancy meaning have an abortion. Once she has decided to have an abortion, she must speak to a health professional/counsellor who can provide pre-abortion counselling. This helps in making an informed decision and to understand the consequences of having an abortion. During this process, it is just as helpful to have someone who will support her during this time because, once the abortion has taken place, she will have to cope with the emotions that follow.

If you are wondering what physical effects having an abortion might have on your body, here are some of the most common body changes that you might experience after the process:

1) Spotting

There might be some little spotting or slight bleeding which will be followed by cramping in your stomach area. The cramp is normal because it is just your body reacting to getting back to normal.

2) Weight gain or Weight loss

You might gain some weight which could be caused by a few things. One reason could be due to something called post-abortion stress, where the experience leaves you stressed and your diet changes. Weight loss can also result from this. Another reason could be hormonal changes in your body as a result of the pregnancy. Not everyone will experience this.

3) Discharge

You might see an unusual, brown discharge from your vagina. Don’t worry, this is the body cleaning itself by taking out tissue left over from the abortion. However, you should speak to your doctor if the discharge begins to have a bad smell.

4) Swollen breasts

Some people experience tender, swollen breasts which might be caused by the changes in hormone levels. It would be best for you to wear loose underwear and to not sleep with any bras at night. This will help lessen the pain.

5) Cramping

A few after the abortion you might have continuous bleeding. The cramping might be caused by the clots (small lumps of blood) which will pass.

6) Stomach Bloating

You might experience some swelling in your stomach area. The swelling is caused by the bleeding and changes in your hormones, which might take time to subside.

7) Periods

After abortion, your body starts to go back to normal and you will start having your periods again. This should happen within 4 -8 weeks.

Basic things you can do to take good care of yourself

It is important to take care of yourself for the next few weeks after the abortion. Here are simple things you can do to make sure that you recover properly.

  1. Drink a lot of fluids.
  2. You might have to stay at home for a few days to recover. If you’re at school or college, ask your friends from school to bring you the homework every day, if possible. You need as much rest as possible.
  3. Take vitamins and eat as much healthy food as possible.
  4. If you are an active person, you will unfortunately have to wait for at least 2 weeks until you can exercise again.

You are encouraged to visit a health facility like Marie Stopes Clinic as early as possible once you decide to have an abortion. It is easier to do the procedure at an early stage of abortion as this will give you more options on what type of abortion will work best for you.

Chomas, if you need more advice or someone to talk to, you can contact me and send me a question via Ask Choma.

If you need more information on abortion you can contact Marie Stopes Clinic call centre on 0800 11 77 85.

If you need counselling, you can contact LifeLine which is available 24/7 on: 011 728 1347

If you feel stressed or depressed after the procedure, you can contact the South African Depression and Anxiety group on the toll free number 0800 565758.

If you or a friend need advice or help, you can contact me here on Ask Choma, send a Facebook message or a Twitter DM, or a WhatsApp Message (071 172 3657).

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