Abortion
Day 21 after abortion: symptoms that should be gone after three weeks
Day 21 · Recovery after abortion
Three weeks are up. Today you can do a small check: are the things you felt in the first weeks of pregnancy still with you, or have they quietly gone? Cramps, nausea, tender breasts: each has its own timeline.
This page explains how long each symptom takes to pass and what step to take if it has not. Whatever your answer, what to do is clear and is written below.
Short answer
Is it normal to still have nausea or breast tenderness 3 weeks after an abortion?
Three weeks after an abortion, pregnancy symptoms are expected to have gone. According to SoftCare Clinic's doctor, breast tenderness passes within 4–5 days at most; if it lasts more than 2 weeks, call the clinic. How long nausea lasts depends on the week in which the pregnancy ended; if it lasts more than 1–2 weeks, call the clinic. If a home pregnancy test is still positive after day 21, report it to the clinic.
How long does each symptom last?
Breast tenderness fades in the first days, nausea lasts differently for each person; by the third week both are expected to be over.
Two coloured bands on a twenty-one-day line: the breast tenderness band fades and ends in the first five days, the nausea band towards the end of the second week.Which symptoms should be gone by the third week?
- Breast tenderness: passes within 4–5 days at most; the limit for calling is two weeks.
- Nausea: how long it lasts depends on the week in which the pregnancy ended; the limit for calling is 1–2 weeks.
- Cramps and pain: according to the clinic's doctor, within the first 2–3 days, 4–5 days in some women.
- Bleeding and spotting: according to international guidelines, up to two weeks.
What should I do if my pregnancy symptoms continue?
Call the clinic. Day twenty-one is past the limits the clinic sets for calling about both breast tenderness and nausea.
When you call, it is enough to say which symptom has been going on and for how long. Your doctor decides whether an examination, a test or an ultrasound is needed.
A symptom being mild is not a reason to put off calling; how long it has lasted is important information for your doctor.
Why does the pregnancy test matter today?
The pregnancy hormone (beta hCG) does not drop straight away after the procedure; that is why a home test can look positive for weeks and is misleading in the first fifteen days. The threshold in the clinic's rule is three weeks, and it is reached today: if a test done after this is still positive, or the line is getting darker, let the clinic know.
What if my period has not come yet?
Not having had a period by the third week is expected. According to the clinic's patient information, the period starts within 40 days on average; if it has not come even though 45 days have passed since the procedure, call the clinic directly.
The period not having come yet and pregnancy symptoms continuing are separate matters: the first is expected this week, while for the second you let the clinic know.
Do today
- If a symptom continues, call the clinic and say the day it started.
- If a test you do from today onwards is positive, report the result.
- Use condoms until your first period.
Don't do today
- Do not dismiss continuing nausea as a stomach upset.
- Do not take medicine on your own for milk coming from the breasts.
- Do not consider your period not coming in the third week a problem on its own.
Special note
If milk is coming from your breasts
The likelihood of milk coming from the breasts increases the later the week in which the pregnancy ended. Only the doctor gives the medicine to stop the milk; do not take milk-suppressing medicine on your own, this is very dangerous. Report the situation to the clinic.
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 breast tenderness has lasted more than two weeks, or nausea more than 1–2 weeks, call the clinic.
- If milk is coming from your breasts, let the clinic know before taking any medicine.
- 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
When does nausea go away after an abortion?
How long nausea lasts depends on the week in which the pregnancy ended; there is no single day that applies to everyone. Under SoftCare Clinic's rule, if nausea lasts more than 1–2 weeks, call the clinic. If you have nausea in the third week after an abortion, do not try to work out the cause at home; your doctor will assess it.
How many days does breast tenderness last after an abortion?
According to SoftCare Clinic's doctor, breast tenderness passes within 4–5 days at most after an abortion. If the tenderness lasts more than 2 weeks, call the clinic. If milk is coming from the breasts, only the doctor gives the medicine to stop it; the patient does not take milk-suppressing medicine on her own.
I still feel pregnant 3 weeks after an abortion; what should I do?
Call the clinic. By the third week, the 2-week limit for calling about breast tenderness and the 1–2-week limit for nausea have been passed. Describe your symptoms and how long they have lasted. If a home test is still positive after three weeks, mention this too; the doctor decides whether an examination, a test or an ultrasound is needed.
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: