She Might Staff 
Post-abortion care extends beyond the immediate recovery in the days after. Both pregnancy and undergoing an abortion can cause big shifts in your hormones, causing a variety of physical and emotional changes. Understanding what might be going on in your body is important to your recovery and wellbeing.
Why would an abortion impact my hormones?
There are two primary types of abortion: medical and surgical abortions. With a medical abortion, patients are given a hormone, sometimes called the abortion pill. The first pill blocks your body’s production of the hormone progesterone, thinning the uterine lining. This makes it difficult for the embryo to stay implanted. The second pill causes the embryo to be expelled, similar to the process of an early miscarriage.
Surgical abortions, which involve sedation and removal of the fetus, are more commonly used after the first trimester.
The endocrine system might feel repercussions as a result from either type of abortion. The initial pregnancy and any type of pregnancy loss interrupts your hormones and resets the menstrual cycle. Some women’s hormones balance quickly after their abortion, while others can take much longer.
What are the physical effects of post-abortion hormonal imbalance?
Shifting hormones can cause a variety of physical side-effects. After an abortion, many women experience breast tenderness. Sometimes your body will produce breast milk as a response to no longer being pregnant. It is also common to feel abdominal cramping, vaginal bleeding, nausea and vomiting, and fatigue.
There are a variety of hormones produced during pregnancy. Human chorionic gonadotropin hormone (hCG) is often called “the pregnancy hormone” because it is only produced during pregnancy. This hormone, which can cause nausea and vomiting, can take anywhere from days to months to subside to pre-pregnancy hormonal levels after an abortion.
Although most women get their period back within 4-8 weeks after an abortion, hormonal imbalance could cause this to take longer. If it has been eight weeks since your abortion and you still have not gotten your period back, you should seek medical advice.
It is completely normal to feel lingering impacts after an abortion. If you’ve had a surgical abortion, bring up any concerns that you have at your 2 week check-up. If you had a medical abortion and don’t feel like yourself after a few weeks, consider scheduling an appointment with a gynecologist or endocrinologist. Your needs deserve to be respected and readily addressed.
What are the mental and emotional effects of hormonal imbalance?
The drastic shifts in hormones during pregnancy and after the termination of pregnancy can impact mood and mental wellness. No one knows your body and your normal better than you do. If you feel that hormonal imbalances could be impacting you, don’t hesitate to seek out professional care.
While the shift in hormones could be responsible for not feeling like yourself, it’s important to recognize that there are a variety of factors at play. An unplanned pregnancy is an intense event.
While many women feel completely normal after terminating a pregnancy, a lot of women encounter mixed emotions. An unexpected pregnancy is a shift from what you planned. According to the American Pregnancy Association, “Grief, regret, shame, depression, relationship issues, trouble sleeping, and anxiety are a few of the possible negative emotional or psychological side effects after an abortion.” If you face any of these struggles, know that you are not alone. There is no right or wrong way to feel.
Where do I go from here?
Your physical recovery post-abortion may take awhile. Don’t hesitate to seek medical advice as you. In addition, the shock of an unplanned pregnancy might reveal more complex, underlying issues in areas from career and relationships to self-esteem and habits.
Consider confiding in someone who is confidential, respectful, and trustworthy. There’s no shame in confiding in a friend or seeking support from a licensed therapist. If you don’t feel quite ready for that, consider journaling as a way to process the experience.
Recovering after an abortion can look different for a variety of reasons. It is normal to have hormonal shifts and big emotions after an abortion. You don’t have to go through this alone.