QuestionQUESTION: I had a surgical abortion at 15wks on 4/18/09 at the recommendation of my doctors due to a heart condition. I didn't bleed very much afterwards, it was about like a normal period. I waited the recommended 6 weeks before using tampons, sitting in bath water etc.. I was told that it would be ok to have sex as long as it was protected. My husband and I had sex 4 weeks after the abortion and we used a condom as well as birth control. I have taken 4 pg test all with a negative result. Since the abortion I have had 3 periods. I wouldn't consider them normal for me but I'm really not sure what normal would be after an abortion. My "normal" periods are using 1-3 days and never any heavier than having to use a regular or lite tampon. Since the ab my periods are very heavy for the first 2 days, so heavy that not even a plus/overnite tampon will work. I have been wearing pads and going through them about every hour sometimes 2 hours. No clotting, or tissue, mild pain that is commonly associated with periods and lots of bright red blood. I have 2 children, both born healthy and to full term. One born vaginally and one via C-section. I was concerned about the surgical abortion because I have heard that a VBAC is risky and although I didn't deliver at full term it was or course vaginal. I know this is probably pretty in depth for a stranger but I want to be as specific as possible. I just can't bring myself to go back to the clinic that did the ab and my OBGYN is a very close friend of our family that I just wouldn't feel comfortable going to. Is all of what I am experiencing normal? Safe? Ok? Please advise.
ANSWER: Hello, Anabelle,
I do appreciate the detail. You seem to be onto something in your own case. First, your abortion was very late. These are always more dangerous. Also, please do know that condoms don't work.
As you seem to realize, abortion isn't normal. The changes in your body aren't normal, either. There is always the possibility that the abortion injured your uterus. This is actually fairly common.
I'm not quite understanding you about your C-section and VBAC. Are you saying you had an abortion because you fear a VBAC? Or was your Caesarian for your first birth?
For future reference, I will tell you something about VBAC and related topics. My midwife taught me this. I studied midwifery under him for awhile. When a woman has had a Caesarian, in a subsequent pregnancy, she can massage the scar with the kind of finger motion that is used in kneading bread. a repeated pressing inward, all along the length of the scar. The uterus has three sets of muscles running in different directions. The doctor who performs the Caesarian cuts alongside muscle fibers to avoid weakening the muscles unnecessarily. This means there are actually three scars running in different directions. So the thing that makes sense is to massage a circular area with a diameter the length of the scar. This should be done regularly. The massage causes new capillaries to form. Scar tissue is very strong, and it's the tissue next to the scar that ruptures. With new blood vessels in the scar tissue, it softens it so that it doesn't put a strain on surrounding tissue. One of the other students has a sister who has a fused tailbone (it wouldn't move out of the way for birth) so she was hoping to have a VBAC. So she massaged regularly. She attempted a homebirth, but eventually had to go to the hospital for a second Caesarian. The doctor who did it said her scar wouldn't have ruptured in "a million years".
Probably like a lot of other people, you have been told that abortion is safer than childbirth. This kind of misinformation means that women make bad choices, especially when there is a medical consideration involved.
I can certainly understand not wanting to go back to where you got the abortion. A lot of women feel that way. And I can understand not wanting to go to your Ob-Gyn, also. So here's what I suggest. You can find a new doctor you can trust by finding a local organization that offers services to pregnant women. To find one in your area, go here:
http://pregnancycenters.org/
They can recommend a doctor who will be happy to work with you. I hope things return to a more usual state for you at some point, but you will probably have to be very patient.
Please let me know what you find out, and please take care of yourself.
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QUESTION: So are you saying that you think my uterus has been damaged? Is it not normal to be bleeding more heavily while on my period after an abortion? I was told not to go to an ER but to contact the clinic for any problems I may have. I called and the nurse told me there was nothing to worry about. I was very concerned with the risks involved in a late termination but my husband and I were hoping that my heart troubles would not come back with this pregnancy. I started having troubles around 13wks and my doctors told me I had a choice, me or the unborn fetus. This was a hard decision and I am still horrified at the way the clinic just acted as if it was no big thing. Now I am concerned that they are dismissing my worries the same way. I live in the south where they do not allow for termination just anywhere, only at select clinics even when medically necessary (which is hard to grasp) and I am ashamed to talk with another doctor about this. Please clarify what you may think is the problem or if you think there is a problem. Do I need to see a doctor? I have two children to think about and if there is something wrong I want to correct it. Do you think I may need to go to the ER?
As for the C-section/VBAC issue, what I was trying to say was that I was concerned about the risks with having a late abortion because of a previous C-section. Is that something I should be worried about? I would greatly appreciate any advice you have to offer.
AnswerHi, Anabelle,
There are a couple of things I need to explain.
First, when your body doesn't go back to its usual state or condition, there's a problem. I don't know what it is; you need to go to a doctor to find out. It may be your hormones are out of whack. It may mean your uterus has been damaged. Only a doctor can really diagnose the problem. That's why I think you need to see a decent doctor.
Probably the reason they didn't want you to go to the ER is because they don't want anyone knowing they botch abortions. At least that's the usual reason. We have observed that sometimes when a woman who has been seriously damaged in an abortion goes to the ER, the ambulance either takes her with lights and sirens off, or she is taken by car. I can't speak about this particular place for sure, but I would tend to think that they are no different, and that they did indeed shrug off your concerns. Few of them are able to admit they cause problems.
Doctors are afraid of lawsuits. So they will do whatever they can to avoid them, including not using best medical judgment. It is most unfortunate your Ob-Gyn is a friend of the family. I don't know if he is the doctor you saw or not, but let me tell you about an experience I had, and you may find this somewhat enlightening. When I moved back here, I found a doctor who had a reputation for being pro-life. I told him specifically I would never go to a doctor who felt abortion is acceptable. A couple of years later, I had a hemorrhage and went to the ER. By the time I got there, I wasn't bleeding heavily, but they wanted to keep me overnight, and I agreed. The next morning, a stranger came in and examined me. He tried to intimidate me by telling me I had had a miscarriage but there was something left and he needed to operate. He implied that if I didn't agree, I might die. To make a long story short, I found out that what was still in my uterus was my baby, and the man was an abortionist! When I confronted my doctor, telling him he knew my stance, he shrugged it off. I never went back to my doctor.
The point I'm making here is that the medical profession is tolerating abortionists, when they know good and well abortion is a violation of medical ethics. If whatever doctor told you that your heart might be a problem was leveling with you, he would never have sent you to the local abortion facility. Instead, if necessary, he or someone else would simply have induced an early birth, and they would have cared for your baby as best they could. In fact, they probably could have waited until the baby had a chance. They would have presented these choices and let you decide.
The doctor I most often ask about situations like this said there are only a couple of medical conditions that make abortion necessary, and heart trouble isn't one of them! He said with what we know today, a woman can be brought safely through just about any medical condition. Since abortion is more dangerous than birth, there is a chance that a woman who has a heart problem would suffer some kind of heart episode from abortion. Nobody I know of is claiming that a second trimester abortion is safer than childbirth.
As long as your bleeding isn't out of control, I recommend you find a doctor in just the way I said. Or, you may be able to find one by contacting the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. All of the people who belong to that organization abide by medical ethics. You can find them here: http://aapsonline.org/ . There are also other organizations, so if you have a problem, let me know. Unless you start to hemorrhage, you have time. If you do hemorrhage, go to the ER.
The doctor who recommended abortion may have been afraid that if your heart trouble reasserted itself, he'd get sued for not recommending abortion. It has gotten that bad. And it will probably get worse. Finding a doctor who is truly ethical is really difficult. The ones who are have very little political power, so there isn't much they can do about it. I don't know about your individual doctor, but I'd be concerned. Maybe your family's friend is OK, or maybe he is misguided, or maybe he wasn't involved. The answer for a situation like yours is to find a specialist who knows how to handle a pregnant woman with a heart problem.
I don't know the answers in your case at the moment. Once you have been to a decent doctor, I would very much appreciate it if you would tell me what he found out. Truly. One of the reasons I answer questions here is that SOMEONE has to side with the women! Few people do anymore. As you can see from my own case, a doctor I trusted was willing to abandon me to an abortionist in spite of my clear instructions to the contrary. What possesses a doctor who claims to be pro-life to do something like that? I have NO idea. Please keep in mind that my experience happened 30 years ago! It can't help but be worse, given that the medical profession has been tolerating these butchers for so many years. After awhile, your own stances get eroded.
I realize this is pretty direct. I am sorry about that. I wish and hope with all my heart things will get better. But we wouldn't even HAVE abortion if the medical profession had stuck by its principles in the first place.
I am also concerned that you didn't really want an abortion. Obviously, I would prefer that, but you may well have some emotional repercussions. Given that, I am here if you need to talk. It is better to make the messages private.
Please take care of yourself, and stay in touch.
