Mental consequences
Regardless of whether the woman is aware of itthe fact that she is taking the life of her unborn child or not, after an abortion she will have to face a number of mental disorders. These may be fear, guilt, insomnia, nightmares, irritability, unreasonable crying, neuroses, frequent mood swings, depression, thoughts of suicide. Sexual disorders may also occur. Such moral and psychological consequences are called post-abortion syndrome and can negatively affect general well-being: headaches, rapid heartbeat, decreased or increased blood pressure, disruption of the digestive system, etc. may appear. There are risk groups that are most susceptible to the onset of dangerous consequences:
- women who interrupt the first pregnancy;
- women who have made two or more abortions;
- women suffering from inflammatory diseases of the reproductive system;
- Women who have undergone surgery on the uterus or ovaries.
The most dangerous abortions are those that occur during the first pregnancy.According to statistics, 75 out of 100 infertile women had their first pregnancy terminated artificially. The first artificial termination of pregnancy can lead to a malfunction of the endocrine glands. As a result of changes in hormonal levels, menstruation and mental health of the woman are disrupted. The body remembers the history of the interrupted first pregnancy and can subsequently repeat it with spontaneous miscarriages. In addition, as a result of abortion, the cervix loses elasticity and firmness, which can prevent a woman from becoming a mother in the future.
The early consequences of abortion
The consequences of abortions can be divided into groups depending on the time of their occurrence. Already during the operation or immediately after it, the following consequences may occur:
- damage to the uterus;
- bleeding;
- complications associated with the introduction of anesthesia.
When performing an artificial abortion for the purpose ofkilling and removing the embryo, the cervix, the canal of which is normally narrow, expands. Moreover, the longer the pregnancy, the greater the expansion of the cervix is required. This leads to abrasions, cracks and tears of the cervix, and, as a consequence, to disruption of normal labor during the subsequent "desired" pregnancy. In addition, during curettage, the uterus itself can be injured. Abortion is performed with a metal instrument, the doctor acts blindly. In this case, not only the mucous membrane of the uterus, but also the muscle layer can be damaged. Scars, cicatrices, polyps may appear, which creates problems with bearing a pregnancy, leads to miscarriages, and, ultimately, to infertility. In the case of severe damage to the uterus, its rupture, there is a danger to the life of a woman, so its surgical treatment is required, and sometimes urgent removal. Any intervention in the uterine cavity can cause severe bleeding, requiring a blood transfusion, emergency surgery, and sometimes removal of the uterus. There is also a risk of complications due to anesthesia. The most dangerous consequence of anesthesia is allergic shock. In addition, breathing, heart function, and liver function may be impaired. Even if problems were avoided during the abortion, negative consequences such as inflammation and thrombosis may appear soon after. After an artificial termination of pregnancy in the uterus, fallopian tubes, abdominal cavity, or in the periuterine fatty tissue, one should be wary of the development of inflammatory processes, as well as blood poisoning (sepsis). They can occur as a result of infection during surgery and be accompanied by severe pain, fever, and a general deterioration in health. In case of blood poisoning, immediate treatment with antibiotics is required. Another consequence of an abortion can be a violation of blood clotting, and, as a result, the formation of blood clots, which requires urgent treatment.
The long-term consequences of abortion
Most abortions do not pass without a trace. Their consequences make themselves known throughout the woman's life. These include:
- violation of menstruation;
- cervical erosion;
- chronic inflammatory diseases of female genital organs;
- infertility;
- hormonal disorders;
- the impact of abortion on future pregnancies;
- increased risk of cancer.
One of the consequences of termination of pregnancyis a menstrual irregularity caused by the formation of scars on the uterine mucosa. Periods become more painful and are accompanied by heavy bleeding. Bleeding may also occur between periods. In this case, the process of restoring the menstrual cycle will take much longer for women who have not given birth than for those who have given birth before (up to six months or more). Hormonal disorders are also inevitable for the body of a woman who has had an abortion. From the moment of fertilization, the woman's body is seriously rebuilt under the influence of hormones, changes occur in the nervous and endocrine systems. Any interference in this natural process, termination of pregnancy leads to severe hormonal disruption in the entire female body. The functions of the ovaries, which produce the corresponding hormones, disrupted during an abortion, cause menstrual irregularities and infertility. Under the influence of hormones, mental problems, obesity, etc. may arise. Damage to the uterus or cervix during an abortion affects the course of subsequent pregnancies. When the cervix is injured, its elasticity is lost. In addition, it may be shortened as a result of injury. Such consequences of abortion lead to miscarriages, premature births, and weak labor in the future. In turn, injury to the uterus is fraught with its rupture during the next pregnancy. Thus, the chances of carrying and giving birth to a healthy child for a woman who has had an abortion once are sharply reduced, and, conversely, the risks of ectopic pregnancies, fetal and placental pathologies (placental accretion, premature detachment, improper attachment of the placenta) increase.
The most dangerous consequences of abortion
As a result of the inflammatory processes caused by the abortionprocesses of the cervix, ovaries, fallopian tubes, infertility may develop. Most often, it occurs as a result of obstruction of the fallopian tubes due to adhesion of their mucous membrane under the influence of inflammatory processes, but it can also occur with severe damage to the uterus itself by an instrument. Most often, infertility is a consequence of abortions performed during the first pregnancy. Suffice it to say that about 20% of families in Russia are childless. One of the serious consequences of termination of pregnancy is an increased risk of cancer. Due to hormonal imbalance in the woman's body caused by artificial termination of pregnancy, the risk of breast cancer, cervical cancer, thyroid cancer, and abdominal tumors increases. For example, the risk of developing breast cancer increases to 150% in girls who have had an abortion before the age of 18. So-called criminal abortions performed outside medical institutions and by unqualified specialists are especially dangerous. It is after such abortions that infertility and death of a woman occur most often. A woman's death may occur as a result of a number of complications caused by abortion, in particular, due to bleeding, perforation of the uterus, infection, thrombosis, and blood poisoning.
