Although it may be several weeks after your abortion before you get your menstruation again, you could ovulate in the first week or two after your abortion, which means you could get pregnant right away. If you do not want to become pregnant right away, it is very important to start using contraceptives immediately.
You can use condoms and other birth control methods right away. An IUD can be put in place as soon as 4-14 days after you take the Misoprostol, even if there is still light bleeding. You can also wait to insert an IUD until your next regular period, but you will need to use another contraceptive method in the meantime if you do not want to risk becoming pregnant.
You can start any other contraceptive method (pills, patch, ring, shot) on the day you take the Misoprostol. However, if for some reason the medical abortion did not work and you are still pregnant, the hormones used in the birth control pills, patch, ring and shot are not dangerous to a developing fetus. Nevertheless we recommend that you have an ultrasound if possible to confirm that the abortion was successful.
If you start birth control pills before your menstrual cycle starts, it is best to use a barrier method (condom) as well, as the pills are slightly less effective during this time.
If you do want to become pregnant again after doing a medical abortion, it is also better to wait until after the first normal menstruation, so please use contraceptives until then.
