Abortion
Abortion day: the first hours and the first night
Procedure day · Recovery after abortion
The procedure is over; you are now at home or about to head home. Your body does not ask much of you today: some fluids, a light meal and a quiet evening.
The question 'is everything all right?' may be on your mind. This page goes step by step through what you can eat and drink in the first hours, the rules about work and driving, and what the first night may be like.
Short answer
What happens in the first hours after an abortion, and what can I eat and drink?
For the first 2–3 hours after an abortion, SoftCare Clinic recommends fluids and low-fat food. Mild cramps and pain start on the procedure day and ease with the painkiller your doctor gives you. After a procedure under sedation you should not drive for at least 24 hours, and for 1 day after local anaesthesia. You can travel as a passenger on the same day; every patient is given a preventive antibiotic.
How long does each symptom last?
Cramps start on the procedure day and ease gradually over the following days.
A band fading from the procedure day towards the following days; the first hours are shown in the darkest tone.What can you eat and drink in the first hours after an abortion?
Our clinic's advice is clear: fluids and low-fat food for the first 2–3 hours after the procedure. Water, a warm soup or a light meal without fat fits this description.
It is enough to leave heavy, fatty meals until after these first hours.
Are there cramps on the day of the abortion, and which medicines are given?
Mild cramps and pain start on the procedure day. They come from the uterus itself: after the procedure the uterus contracts, shrinks and returns towards its previous size.
The painkiller your doctor gives you works for this pain. At our clinic every patient is also given an antibiotic as a precaution. Your doctor decides which medicine you take, on which days and at what dose; ask the clinic before reaching for any medicine other than the ones you were given.
Can you drive or go to work on the day of an abortion?
If your procedure was done under sedation, do not drive for at least 24 hours; if it was done under local anaesthesia, do not drive for 1 day either. Go home as a passenger.
If you work at a desk and have to, you can go to work today. If your job requires you to make decisions or stay highly alert, our clinic recommends spending the procedure day resting at home. Under the regulations, sick leave for this procedure is 1 day and is given to patients who need it.
What is the first night like?
This evening you may have bleeding, you may have spotting or you may see no bleeding at all; all three are patterns seen after an abortion and vary from woman to woman.
During the procedure, the doctor checked that it was complete both with ultrasound and by hand. So tonight you do not need to go looking for the answer to 'was anything left inside?'.
You can take a shower. Keeping a pad, your water and your painkiller nearby and lying down early can be the only plan for tonight.
Do today
- Stick to fluids and low-fat food for the first 2–3 hours.
- Take your painkiller and antibiotic as your doctor explained.
- Go home in the passenger seat.
- Keep the clinic's phone number at hand.
- Take a shower if you wish.
Don't do today
- Do not eat heavy, fatty meals in the first hours.
- Do not drive today; after sedation you wait at least 24 hours.
- Do not get into a bath or a pool.
- Do not have sex; this restriction lasts at least one week.
- Do not take a medicine your doctor did not give you without asking the clinic.
Special note
If your blood group is Rh negative
If your blood group is not known, it is checked at the clinic. Your doctor decides whether the anti-D (Rh) injection is needed, based on the week the pregnancy ended and your situation. If it is considered necessary, the injection is given only to Rh-negative patients, on the day after the procedure.
Special note
If you came from another city or from abroad
As a passenger you can make a long road journey or fly today; if you have a special condition, your doctor will explain any warnings separately. Our patients who come from abroad have the procedure on the first day and can return the next day. Do not get behind the wheel today, though.
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 anything worries you after you get home, call the clinic without waiting for the morning; our patients can reach a nurse or the doctor's assistant at night too.
- If you are setting off on a long journey today and have a special condition, tell your doctor before you leave.
- 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 go to work or drive on the same day as an abortion?
Under SoftCare Clinic's rule, a patient who works at a desk can go to work on the same day if she has to; for jobs that require decisions or close attention, resting at home on the procedure day is recommended. You should not drive for at least 24 hours after sedation, or for 1 day after local anaesthesia. You can travel as a passenger on the same day.
Is it normal to have no bleeding on the day of the abortion?
It can be. Bleeding after an abortion follows a different course from woman to woman: in some it comes right after the procedure, some only have spotting, and in others it starts 3–4 days later. Bleeding never coming is not considered abnormal either. A clean pad on the procedure day is not, on its own, a sign of a problem.
Can tissue be left inside after an abortion?
The doctor checks during the procedure that it is complete, with ultrasound and by hand; at SoftCare Clinic a detailed ultrasound check is also done after the procedure. If over the following days you have severe pain that does not ease with painkillers, bleeding that soaks 2–3 pads an hour, foul-smelling discharge or a temperature of 38 °C or higher, call the clinic straight away.
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: