Patient's question:
My girlfriend has had two medication abortions and one surgical abortion. Will this affect her fertility?Doctor's answer:
The reasons why (induced abortion) can lead to infertility are:1. Unprofessional abortion: Unprofessional abortions often occur in unlicensed clinics. If the abortion procedure is successful and the woman recovers well post-surgery, she generally will not experience infertility after the procedure. However, unprofessional abortions, when performed by clinicians with insufficient experience or improper surgical techniques, may still result in excessive suction or scraping of the uterine cavity, damaging the cervical canal and endometrium. This can subsequently lead to cervical adhesion blockage or uterine cavity adhesion shrinkage. As a result, sperm may not be able to pass through the cervical canal into the uterine cavity, or the fertilized egg may fail to implant or develop.
2. Postoperative infection: It is easy to suffer from infection after an abortion, especially if unprotected sexual intercourse occurs before the bleeding has completely stopped. This can introduce pathogenic bacteria into the healing endometrial wound, causing infection, which may very likely lead to female infertility.
3. Multiple abortions: Due to a lack of awareness of the dangers of abortion, the number of people undergoing the procedure has increased, with some even having multiple abortions. Multiple abortions are also more likely to cause multiple injuries or accidental mistakes during the procedure, further damaging the cervix. This can lead to the rupture of cervical muscle and fibrous tissue, forming scars, which often results in difficult-to-treat habitual abortion. Multiple abortions can also easily damage the endometrium, as suction and scraping are most likely to injure the basal layer of the endometrium. As a result, uterine perforation is not uncommon. After the normal tissue between the endometrium and the basal layer is destroyed, the endometrium may grow into the basal or muscular layer, forming adenomyosis or adenomyoma, leading to symptoms such as excessive bleeding, infertility, and abdominal pain. Multiple abortions can also affect a woman’s neuroendocrine and reproductive functions, particularly increasing the risk of spontaneous abortion in early and mid-pregnancy for nulliparous women. Additionally, it raises the incidence of ectopic pregnancy, placenta previa, and postpartum hemorrhage.
4. Lack of post-abortion care: After an artificial abortion, a woman must rest for at least 3–4 days and avoid sexual intercourse for one month. If proper rest is not obtained after the procedure, or if sexual intercourse occurs too soon, it can lead to infection and subsequently cause infertility.