After getting an abortion, your chances of conceiving do not go away. Rather, you can ovulate as soon as 2 weeks. This means you can get pregnant soon after the pregnancy termination procedure. So, if you do not want to get pregnant immediately, you must consult your healthcare provider about birth control options. Now the type of contraceptive depends on the type of abortion you have had. In this post, we will discuss pregnancy prevention methods and the importance of same after a medical abortion.

Which Birth Control to Use After a Medical Abortion?

Right after ending a pregnancy through the abortion pill, you can choose hormonal contraceptives such as the shot, pill, or patch. You can start as soon as the heavy bleeding from the procedure finishes. And if you wish to get an IUD (Intrauterine Device) fixed, then you can consider it following 1 to 2 weeks of abortion completion. For immediate protection during intercourse, you can depend on internal condoms, diaphragm, condoms, sponge, spermicide, or cervical cap.

The key to choosing the best birth control is to understand your needs first. Do you want something easy and simple to remember? Or, do you want to start with the one for which you do not need the assistance of a physician? Or, do you wish to get lighter menstrual bleeding? There are several birth control methods to explore – a few that are effective right away and the remaining that may take some time to give results.

You can look for long-acting or short-acting types or the ones that are permanent to prevent pregnancy:

Long-acting Reversible Contraception (LARC): This indicated reversible methods, wherein you stay protected from pregnancy for several months or years. Some of the alternatives are hormonal injections or shots, implants, and intrauterine devices.

Short-acting Contraception: This is about daily barrier methods such as daily birth control pills and condoms. Both female and male condoms are available.

Permanent Birth Control: If you do not plan to get pregnant again, you may consider sterilization or tubal ligation. Here, the surgeon removes, blocks, or clips the fallopian tubes. This does not allow the sperm to reach the egg and cause fertilization.

How Soon Should You Begin Birth Control Following an Abortion?

Experts say that you should look for alternatives to safeguard against pregnancy as soon as 3 to 9 days or right after getting the uterus emptied. If you do so, the protection from pregnancy happens right away. So, whenever you become sexually active again, there is no need to use barrier methods. However, a condom does act as more than just contraception. It helps to avert the risk of STIs and STDs. If you are not ready yet to use birth control, then you may want to avoid unprotected intercourse for the time being.

If you wait for a week or more after medical abortion success, to begin with, hormonal contraceptives such as the patch, ring, pill, or IUD, then you will need to use a condom during intercourse for the initial period of a week after beginning with it. If you have been using a particular birth control before the abortion pill process, but want to switch it now, you may do so. But consult your physician to think through which alternative will best suit your health and needs.

To Conclude

Remember that if you are still bleeding from the procedure, it is better to choose a birth control that you can use externally and not get placed inside the vagina or the reproductive organs. Discuss with your physician about the choices for contraception and plan for it soon after the abortion. But do so once you know that the uterus does not have pregnancy remains.