Abortion
Day 14 after abortion: when does ovulation return?
Day 14 · Recovery after abortion
Two weeks have passed since the procedure. From the outside it may look like a calm period; inside, your ovaries are preparing a new cycle.
Today's topic is this preparation: when ovulation comes back, why nobody can tell its day in advance, and why keeping a calendar is misleading in this period. The aim is to show what the condom rule is based on.
Short answer
When does ovulation happen after an abortion, and can safe days be calculated?
After an abortion, ovulation can return about two weeks after the procedure, sometimes earlier; so pregnancy is possible before the first period. Because there is no period date to count from, calculating safe days with a calendar does not work in this period. That is why SoftCare Clinic requires a condom every time after the first week, until the first period comes.
Hormones and the first period
As the pregnancy hormone falls, the ovaries wake up; the day of ovulation is not a point on the line but a wide range.
On a line from the procedure day to the first period, a falling hCG curve with rising oestrogen and progesterone curves; ovulation is shown as a wide range.How do the ovaries start working again after an abortion?
After the procedure the pregnancy hormone (hCG) starts to fall. With this fall the ovaries come back into play: the follicles inside them grow, oestrogen rises and ovulation takes place.
On which day does ovulation happen?
According to our clinic's doctor, ovulation can return about two weeks after the procedure, earlier in some women. Day fourteen is right within the days when the ovaries can release an egg again. The day itself varies from woman to woman, and the body gives no advance notice.
The period comes later: according to the clinic's patient information, it starts within 40 days on average. In the weeks in between, it is possible to get pregnant without having had a period.
Why doesn't the safe-days calculation work?
The calendar method is based on estimating ovulation by counting from the first day of the last period. After an abortion you have no such starting date: the procedure day is not a period day, and how long this cycle will last is unknown. According to our clinic's doctor, the cycle can stretch to 45 days in some women.
The days shown by phone apps are also based on your past cycles; they cannot predict this period. The clinic's rule was set with this uncertainty in mind: after the first week, a condom every time until your first period comes.
What is done if there was unprotected sex?
The clinic's doctor does not recommend the morning-after pill. Checking starts with an early pregnancy test (strip test) one week after the sex, and the test is repeated at intervals until day twenty. If the second line looks faint or blurry, call the clinic. Because the pregnancy hormone can make the test show positive for a while after the procedure, it is best to interpret the result together with your doctor.
Do today
- Keep using a condom every time until your period comes.
- Note the day your first period starts.
- If you are thinking about a new pregnancy, plan the preparation with your doctor.
Don't do today
- Do not stop using contraception based on the days apps show.
- Do not count the procedure day as the first day of a period and calculate from it.
- Do not assume there is no ovulation because your period has not come.
- Do not take the morning-after pill after unprotected sex.
Special note
If you are planning a new pregnancy
Our clinic's doctor recommends waiting at least 3 months before a new pregnancy. During this time, preparing with folic acid, an examination and tests is advised. When an abortion is performed properly, later pregnancies are not affected; you can discuss the details of the preparation with your doctor.
When should you call?
Call 112 first (if you are abroad, that country's emergency number)
- Fainting: If you faint, call 112 first; if you are abroad, call the emergency number of the country you are in.
Call the clinic straight away
- Heavy bleeding: Soaking 2–3 pads within one hour. A total of 2–3 pads over the whole day is normal.
- Fever: A temperature of 38 °C or higher, or fever together with weakness.
- Severe pain: Severe abdominal or back pain that does not ease with painkillers.
- Foul-smelling discharge: Unusual, foul-smelling vaginal discharge.
- Large clot: Passing a clot the size of a golf ball.
Call the clinic
- If you see a faint or blurry second line on a test after unprotected sex, call the clinic.
- Dizziness or shivering: Dizziness, chills and shivering that do not pass.
- Hard abdomen: The abdomen becoming hard, or clear tenderness when touched.
- Burning on urination: Burning or stinging when passing urine.
SoftCare Clinic patients can reach the doctor's assistant or a nurse 24 hours a day; when needed, they contact the doctor. Call whenever you are unsure; what your own doctor tells you always comes first.
Frequently asked questions
Can you get pregnant 2 weeks after an abortion?
You can. According to our clinic's doctor, ovulation returns about two weeks after the procedure, sometimes earlier, and pregnancy can occur before the first period comes. Whether ovulation has happened in the second week cannot be told from the outside. That is why SoftCare Clinic asks for a condom every time after the first week, until the first period.
Can safe days be calculated after an abortion?
They cannot. The calendar method is based on the date of the previous period; after an abortion there is no such date and the length of the first cycle cannot be predicted. Our clinic's doctor notes that after the procedure the period does not come at 28 days in everyone, and in some women the cycle can stretch to 45 days.
When does the first period come after an abortion?
According to SoftCare Clinic's patient information, the period starts within 40 days on average; there is no rule that it will come exactly 28 days or one month later in every woman. Ovulation happens before this first period. If 45 days have passed since the procedure and your period has not come, call the clinic directly.
Sources
SoftCare Clinic for your questions
Our patients can reach a nurse and the doctor's assistant 24 hours a day.
This page is for general information; it does not replace an examination or your doctor's advice. Every woman recovers differently. The times and rules your doctor gives you always take priority over those on this page.
Medically reviewed by Op. Dr. Şükrü Sanus, Obstetrician & Gynecologist · Last medical review: