Home Women's HealthAbortion Swollen belly after abortion: causes and treatment

Swollen belly after abortion: causes and treatment

by Alivia Nyhan
Published: Last Updated on
Swollen belly after abortion

Abortion is an invasive practice. The uterus responds with intense contractions that generate inflammation, whether using a pharmacological method or an instrument. This inflammation occurs in the genital organs and surrounding structures such as the digestive tract or the urinary tract.

Next, you will find in this FastlyHealarticle everything you need to know about the causes and treatment of a swollen belly after an abortion.

What is an abortion?

To understand why the belly swells after an abortion, it is essential to know how the female body is made up and what an abortion is.

Female anatomy

Your body is more complex than you think: your organs are interconnected by their closeness and the influence of circulation and the hormones that act on it.

A pregnancy originates from an egg in your ovaries and a sperm after unprotected sexual intercourse; this encounter occurs in one of the fallopian tubes. The embryo thus formed grows and develops the structures it needs to fixate on your uterus. Where the source is started, it will implant after a few days.

This whole process includes a hormonal cascade that prepares both the genitals and the rest of your body to receive another being that depends on your body.

What is an abortion?

An abortion is the voluntary termination of a pregnancy. It can be practiced using different techniques:

  • Sometimes both routes are used for drugs that are given to take or placed in the vagina.
  • Instrumental methods that dilate the cervix take the embryo and separate it from the uterus or aspirate it. Then medications are given to contract the uterus.

On the other hand, after voluntarily interrupting a pregnancy through abortion, there is not only inflammation of the tissues that are manipulated (vagina, cervix, and uterus), but hormones are still acting in your digestive system, your urinary tract, your muscles, your bones and, of course, your mind and emotions.

Why does the belly swell after an abortion?

Belly swelling after an abortion is something that often happens. This inflammation can be more critical and severe if there are complications such as tears, retention of remains within the uterus, or infection. Still, now we will focus on the case that there are no complications.

Handling of sensitive tissues

Abortion involves the extraction and expulsion of a fetus implanted in the uterus, which is why to perform it, the methods are usually invasive or generate intense contractions in the uterine muscle.

The inflammation is the result of this suddenness in such a delicate organ. This causes pain and inflammation, not only in the uterus but also in nearby structures.

The uterine contractions that occur after an abortion are known as entuertos and tend to reduce the size of the uterus was enlarged to contain within it a pregnancy. If you remove the fetus from inside the uterus, its walls tend to close to return to its original size.

This happens whether the method used is pharmacological or instrumental, whether drugs were used to end the pregnancy, or if more invasive techniques were used.

In the latter case, when the embryo or fetus is extracted using medical instruments, the uterus is also manipulated. This involves quite bloody procedures such as:

  • Mobilization of the uterus.
  • You’re breaking up.
  • Injury of the uterine mucosa and sometimes of the muscle.
  • Detachment of the union between the embryo and the uterus.

All this encourages more contractions, alteration in the blood circulation of the uterus and other female organs, bleeding, and, of course, inflammation.

Urinary inflammation

The bladder and other organs of the lower urinary tract are very close and in contact with the genital organs manipulated during an abortion.

That is why they can also become inflamed and even painful. Symptoms such as burning when urinating, the need to urinate frequently, and the feeling that you have not finished doing it may appear. And in addition to these symptoms, inflammation can be generated that will also be perceived in the lower belly area.

Digestive disorders

On the other hand, the anxiety, stress, and complicated emotions that usually accompany a woman in that decision directly influence her digestive system. In this way, the intestines can also become inflamed and cause constipation or diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, gas, or bloating, among other symptoms.

You may also perceive the need to defecate frequently or feel that you do not finish doing it. This is more due to an inflammation in the final part of the digestive system: the rectum. There may also appear hemorrhoids, which is the inflammation of the outermost veins of the anus.

How long does the belly hurt after an abortion?

The voluntary interruption is a bloody and invasive procedure on extremely delicate structures. The uterus tissues, especially when the placenta is implanted, are susceptible.

That is why any procedure, no matter how gentle, can cause pain and inflammation. The discomfort also depends on your particular sensitivity and, above all, on your emotional state. Remember that our body is a single thing. Your mind and emotions directly influence your well-being or how you perceive discomforts.

That is why for some women, the pain is minimal and subsides with the mildest painkillers and, for others, the pain is significant and can last longer than usual.

In general, when there are no complications, pain in the lower abdomen usually lasts between 1 to 3 weeks. This also depends on when the abortion was performed: when it is earlier, the discomfort may last less time, but as I have mentioned, it depends on each case.

When the abortion is pharmacological, analgesics can be indicated if there is discomfort. When the procedure is instrumental, anesthesia is performed.

The painkillers usually indicated after the procedure are usually the common ones: paracetamol, ibuprofen, and, in some cases, something a little more substantial such as ketorolac or even morphine derivatives.

Treatment of a swollen belly after an abortion

As you have seen, the causes for which the belly swells after an abortion are varied. That is why aiming for general well-being will help you overcome this process more quickly. Both locally and generally, everything you can do will make your belly deflate faster. Some practical recommendations are:

  • It is essential that you rest and do not exert yourself.
  • Avoid exposing yourself directly to heat sources: sun, cooking, heating.
  • Apply cool or cold compresses to your lower belly.
  • You can perform sitz baths with fresh water for 5 to 10 minutes; the water must be clean without irritating products.
  • Try to eat healthily: leave out processed, alcohol, carbonated drinks, sugar or caffeine, fried foods, and pastries. It is better to include whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes. These will provide you with the nutrients your body needs and are easy to digest. Thus the inflammation will subside more quickly.
  • Get enough rest: For the inflammation to subside faster, it is better to sleep at night for 6 to 8 hours.

You can take an anti-inflammatory painkiller, although the ideal is that if you notice too much discomfort, go to a medical center since it is essential to rule out complications. Go immediately if you have:

  • Fever.
  • Intense pain that does not go away with painkillers.
  • Smelly, yellowish, or greenish discharge.
  • General discomfort.
  • Decay.
  • No original.

This article is merely informative. At FastlyHeal .com, we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to Swollen belly after abortion: causes and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Female reproductive system.

You may also like

Leave a Comment