Abortion and tests
Abortion is an artificial termination of pregnancy up to 20-22 weeks of gestation by surgical or medication.
Pregnancy provokes a number of physiological changes in a woman's body. Its healthy development is ensured by the interaction of glands that produce hypothalamic, pituitary, sex hormones. Termination of pregnancy in any way violates the hormonal level, the restoration of which the body needs a certain time. Why can tests be positive after an abortion? Do I need to do a home test after an abortion? When can a pregnancy test after an abortion be positive?
Why do post-abortion tests? How does a pregnancy test work
Before you understand which pregnancy tests after the abortion procedure give results, it is necessary to determine what changes in the woman's body occur during conception and development of pregnancy, and what mechanisms for determining pregnancy are used in home tests.
A woman's menstrual cycle is regulated by a certain ratio of the levels of various hormones in the body. Hormones contribute to the maturation of the egg, ovulation, the growth of the corpus luteum, which produces progesterone - a hormone necessary for the normal development of pregnancy. With successful conception, implantation and development of the ovum, a placenta is formed from its embryonic membranes, establishing a close connection between the developing fetus and the uterine mucosa, as well as providing nutrition and respiration of the fetus. The placenta also produces certain hormones, which include chorionic gonadotropin, placental lactogen, prolactin, progesterone, estrogens and other hormones in smaller quantities.
Chorionic gonadotropin is a gonadotropin hormone produced by the placenta, which begins to be produced from the first hours of pregnancy. HCG doubles every 48 hours and increases several thousand times by 7-11 weeks of pregnancy, then its level gradually begins to decline, which is the norm. Home pregnancy tests are based on detecting elevated levels of hCG in the urine. After an abortion, pregnancy tests may remain positive for some time, which is explained by a gradual decrease in the level of the hormone hCG in the body after the removal of the ovum from the uterus.
After the abortion procedure, pregnancy tests are not recommended, as their result will be false positive. As a rule, after the termination of pregnancy, the woman is under the supervision of doctors until the onset of the next cycle, which will eliminate and prevent complications after the abortion procedure. Home tests are not an informative way to determine if you are not pregnant after an abortion. A home test can only determine the level of hormone content that exceeds the sensitivity of the test itself. Some patients note that over time after an abortion, the tests become paler (the result is interpreted as weakly positive), then negative, which shows the dynamics of a decrease in the concentration of hCG in urine after an abortion. It should be rememberedthat post-abortion tests are not an acceptable way to determine the success of the procedure. Tests cannot rule out complications after an abortion. What test results are alarming? When should I see a doctor if the test is positive after an abortion?
Post-abortion test: normal options
After the abortion procedure, the tests may be positive, which is associated with a gradual decrease in the concentration of hCG in the woman's body after the termination of pregnancy. So, the test after an abortion will be positive in the first 24-48 hours after the procedure. The level of hCG depends on the duration of pregnancy: the later the gestation is interrupted, the higher the concentration of this hormone in the woman's body, and the higher the likelihood that the test after an abortion will be positive.
If after the abortion the test shows a positive or weakly positive result, then it is recommended to repeat the test with an interval of 2-3 days. If the test after an abortion shows a positive result and the test strip is brighter than the control, then in this case the woman is recommended to visit a doctor for consultation and additional examinations. After an abortion, tests are not a valid diagnostic method. As a rule, it is difficult to track the dynamics of hCG using pregnancy tests after an abortion. However, if 10-14 days after the abortion the test turns out to be positive, then this is an alarming signal that requires an urgent visit to a specialist.
After an abortion, the test is positive: what the result can say at different times
Although after an abortion tests may show a positive result for some time, what results can be perceived as a normal variant, and when do you need to see a doctor?
After an abortion, the test can be positive in the following cases:
- Incomplete abortion - parts of the ovum remained in the uterine cavity;
- Conducting a conventional abortion with an ectopic pregnancy - an ectopic pregnancy requires abortion in a fundamentally different way. In this case, the ovum is outside the uterine cavity, which is cleaned out during a traditional abortion, as a result of which the ovum is not removed;
- Live developing pregnancy after abortion (medical error);
- New pregnancy in the first cycle after abortion.
If, after an abortion, the test shows pregnancy, then in such a situation it is important to exclude an incomplete abortion, for which a woman needs to pass a number of tests and undergo ultrasound monitoring. If parts of the ovum remain in the uterine cavity, then after the abortion, the test may remain positive.
Many women are unaware that immediately after an abortion, the body is already capable of a new conception.
Losing vigilance, a woman can become pregnant 10-15 days after an abortion. By doing a home pregnancy test after an abortion, women can find a positive result. This situation is possible due to the fact that on the day of the abortion, a new menstrual cycle begins in the woman's body, and this is how a new egg matures. If unprotected intercourse occurs during ovulation, then the likelihood of pregnancy is the same as in a healthy woman of reproductive age.
If immediately after the abortion the test shows pregnancy with test and control strips of the same brightness, the opposite dynamics is not observed (the test becomes weakly positive and after a while completely negative), then the woman should consult a doctor for tests. During this period, it is important to exclude an ectopic pregnancy, incomplete abortion, or developing pregnancy after an abortion. Tests for home determination of pregnancy are not a 100% reliable diagnostic method, but they can help to consult a doctor in time if there are warning signs of a continued pregnancy or the development of a new pregnancy after an abortion.
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