Sex after abortion, what should be considered?

Those of you who have had a medical abortion certainly need time to restore your physical and psychological condition to normal. It is undeniable that abortion is enough to make you feel devastated, sad, and guilty. Sex is believed to provide calm and restore your feelings, but what if done after the abortion? What should be considered before having sex after an abortion? Read on for the following reviews.

When can you start making love again after the abortion?

Abortion is an act of ending a pregnancy prematurely. In Indonesia, abortion is only legalized with a doctor's approval for medical reasons that could endanger the health of the mother or have problems with the fetus.

An abortion that is done with the right procedure is certainly safer and has fewer complications. However, not a few women also experience some side effects after the abortion, including stomach cramps, bleeding, nausea, vomiting, breast pain, and fatigue. It is this reason that makes women afraid to have sex again after the abortion.

Basically, you and your partner can return to sex after the abortion or curettage. It's just that, give a gap of about 2 to 3 weeks from the start of recovery efforts to reduce the risk of infection.

The reason is, anything that is inserted into a woman's vagina, including penile penetration during sexual intercourse, can make microorganisms enter the vagina and infect the uterus. Therefore, it is not recommended that you rush into sex after an abortion, either by penetration or masturbation.

To determine whether you are ready to have sex after the abortion, see a doctor right away. The doctor will perform a pelvic exam using a special instrument (speculum) to see how far you are recovering from the effects of the abortion.

If the doctor has stated that you are in good health and recovering, it means that you can return to having sex with your partner.

Pay attention to this first before returning to sex after the abortion

1. Make sure your health condition has recovered

Before deciding to return to sex after the abortion, make sure that your body is ready and fully recovered physically and mentally.

After both medical and surgical abortion, you may experience bleeding and some discomfort such as stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. This of course will make you even more stressed so that sex feels unsatisfactory.

As previously explained, doctors recommend that you take full rest for 2 to 3 weeks to restore your physical and psychological condition.

After the doctor states you are healthy and recovered, then you and your partner can return to sexual relations. If you suddenly experience sharp pain in the abdomen during sex after the abortion, contact your doctor immediately for further treatment.

2. Use proper contraception

If you decide to return to sex after the abortion, but do not want a pregnancy, then consult your doctor to get the best contraceptive advice for you.

Reporting from Women's Health, according to Leah Millheiser, M.D, director of Stanford University Medical School, said that the day you have an abortion counts to be the first day of your menstrual cycle. This means, you will be fertile and have the opportunity to get pregnant again during sex after the abortion.

Therefore, consider with your doctor about what type of contraception is suitable for your condition. One option is condoms, a form of contraception that can help reduce post-abortion infections while preventing pregnancy.

3. You don't have to wait long to be able to use contraceptives

The good news is, the condition of your body after the abortion makes it possible to receive any type of contraception, either with birth control pills, IUD, or other contraceptives.

So, you don't have to wait a long time to be able to use contraceptives. You can even ask your doctor to insert the IUD at the same time as the medical abortion procedure.

If you really want to postpone pregnancy after the abortion, it's a good idea to use an IUD, which is more effective at preventing pregnancy. However, still consult your doctor to find the right contraceptive for you.