Questionhi. thank god you are here, and i can ask my question without fear that i will
be judged, or told that god will punish me for having an abortion by
rendering me infertile...i had an surgical abortion on feb. 22, 2006. i was
about 11 to 11.5 along. my first period came 5.5 weeks after the procedure.
they've been fairly regular since then--every month, 24-27 days, flowing the
same number of days. nothing unusual to me. it's now july. i'm wondering
when it is possible for me to get pregnant again. i'm 38, if that's a factor.
my boyfriend and i had sex, and though i didn't think i could be pregnant, i
took a home pregnancy test anyway. it was negative, which means the
pregnancy hormones are no longer lurking and causing a false positive. so,
you'd think i'd be good to go. it's been not quite 5 months. but i've heard all
sorts of horror stories about women who have had abortions who have never
been able to become pregnant again, or it can take up to 2 years, etc. my
post-abortion follow-up exams were normal, but i'm confused about my
chances and afraid to know the real truth...thank you so much if you could
shed some light on this subject!
AnswerIt's hard to figure out whether you're trying to avoid getting pregnant right now, or whether you're more worried about being able to get pregnant in the future... but that confusion is only natural. Having an abortion brings with it a whole host of insecurities, and the religious rhetoric that we hear from our loved ones doesn't help at all, does it?
So here's the deal: there is no reason why having an abortion shouold stop you having kids in the future. Sounds like you had a safe, uncomplicated procedure and your fertility has been back to normal since then (evidence: regular periods).
Now, getting pregnant is a tricky proposition in the best of scenarios. It might be hard to believe, because it happened to you when you least expected or wanted it, but you know by now that millions of perfectly healthy, normal couples spend months and months trying to get pregnant. The wait is always a long one when you're hoping it will happen. If you start trying to have a baby, then you should have NO expectations fo rsix months, and you only need to go to a fertility clinic after you've been seriously trying for one whole year. Seriously trying: which means ovulation calendars and thermometers and charts and vitamin supplements and the whole shebang.
As for now, it doens't seem like you are pregnant, because of the negative test and the regular menses, so if you're worried about that, don't be! Having an abortion is stressful enough without having all these needless worries hanging over you.
Write back if you have more questions, and take care.
