Aftercare questions or concerns

Bleeding can range from light to heavy after an abortion with pills. You may have bleeding heavier than a normal period for up to a week or more. As long as you are not soaking through more than 2 pads per hour for 2 hours in a row, it is likely normal. Contact the aftercare line for support if you are concerned about heavy bleeding.

If you have taken the special pregnancy test that BPAS gave you, please call the aftercare line for advice.

A normal shop bought pregnancy test is very sensitive and can remain positive for up to 6 weeks post treatment. We know that your hormone levels drop after an abortion but they take some time to go down to below the “non pregnant” level. If you are worried that you are still pregnant after your treatment, please call the aftercare line for advice. If you think you have a new pregnancy, please contact the booking and information centre.

Yes, cramping and pain are very common side effects after taking the abortion pills. The cramping is a sign that the medication is working. Use a heating pad on your abdomen and take ibuprofen (you can take 800mg all at once if you need to) or other pain medication like codeine and paracetamol as recommended to help manage the discomfort. If the pain becomes severe, contact the aftercare line for support.

The pregnancy hormones rapidly decrease after an abortion with pills. Your pregnancy symptoms, should resolve quite quickly, sickness takes around 2-3 days to go away (although some people say it’s immediate) and sore breasts and tiredness should resolve within 7-10 days of your abortion. If you took the pregnancy test that we gave you and it is negative, that is a good sign the abortion is complete. If you notice ongoing pregnancy symptoms, or your test is positive, or you just have a feeling that you are still pregnant contact the aftercare line for support.

Some people bleeding right up until their next period, however, on average it lasts for around 1-2 weeks, but can be lighter bleeding for up to 6 weeks. If you are using hormonal contraception, like the pill, the patch, the injection or the implant, this can cause some irregular bleeding for a few months.

During the treatment, some very strong cramps are expected, they should feel better if you take a large dose of ibuprofen (800mg). In the days and weeks following abortion, some cramping is normal, but severe cramps may be a sign of complication. Contact the aftercare line for support if you have severe cramping along with heavy bleeding, fever, or foul-smelling discharge.

You can have sex again once you feel ready, emotionally and physically. Ideally you would wait until the bleeding has stopped, usually after 1-2 weeks, but you don’t have to if you feel ready sooner. Use contraception to avoid infection or a new pregnancy.

If you normally have regular cycles, your next period should start about 4-6 weeks after the abortion. It may be lighter or heavier than usual at first. Ovulation happens about 10 days to 2 weeks after you have had your abortion so you can get pregnant again very soon. Please use contraception if you want to avoid a new pregnancy.