Abortion and pregnancy, which is the most harmful to the body?

Image: Huang Tsai | Written by: Six Floors | Responsible editor: Ah Yue Original article, please do not reprint without permission Business cooperationPlease contact: [email protected]

Hello everyone, I am the obstetrics and gynecology department of thousands of women old cotton pants six floors, welcome to the #Old Six Blind Chat# column.

Today's topic is about a private message I received, a girl said: After pregnancy, parents are particularly resistant to abortion, and they will recommend giving birth to their children, on the grounds that they feel that abortion is very harmful to the body.

▲Image source: reader's private message

I'm sure many girls have heard similar sayings, so she wants to ask: between abortion and pregnancy, which is the most harmful to the body?

(I'm sorry, but I have to admit to you that relying only on popular science to explore the damage and comparison at the physiological level cannot solve the problems in private messages, because it involves the cognitive conflict of "female value" among women themselves, parents, and society, which is a long-standing problem for me and popular science.) ）

Pregnancy VS abortion, which hurts more?

It's actually harder for us to explore this because both of these things are physically damaging and risky for women. So, we're only talking about these two things here, which hurts less.

It would certainly be better if there was an opportunity to avoid harm and make the right choice, but in many cases we had to fall into a "lesser of two evils" situation.

So first of all, let's go back to the private message itself: Is there any surgical risk of abortion? The answer is yes. Uterine rupture and perforation, heavy bleeding, intimal injury, adhesions, resulting in a series of injuries affecting the shape of the uterine cavity, which are all risks of surgery itself.

And how long will the impact of such an operation on women's hearts and emotions last?

I have encountered such a situation in the clinic: some people feel that they have done abortion, they are devalued, they do not deserve love and marriage, they do not deserve a good job, a good life, and even think that they are crippled or inferior. As long as women fall into such emotions, it is often difficult to get out of it, and every time I encounter it, I feel very sad.

▲Image source: Screenshot from this video

Then let's talk about the possible risks and harms of pregnancy and childbirth.

First of all, the whole pregnancy period is very long, and it is easy to cause damage to the body during pregnancy; After giving birth, it continues to bring longer-term effects and damage, which also objectively exists, and these are only from the physiological level.

Then, whether giving birth to a child at an inappropriate stage of life is a good thing or a bad thing, whether it is an adult or a child, I cannot judge. But in fact, there are many people who have changed their life trajectories because they gave birth to children at a certain time, and it is difficult for us to evaluate whether the life after this is good or bad.

Because life is a one-way street, we can only choose at countless forks in the road, and we cannot retreat and walk again because the road we have already traveled is not good.

Therefore, from the physiological level alone, the damage and risk caused by abortion are much less than the pregnancy itself. But from a psychological level, compared with pregnancy, the trauma and impact of abortion on pregnancy cannot be measured, at least from my point of view, and can only be judged by specific individuals.

▲Image source: Screenshot from this video

Then as for the change or impact on the path of life, it also varies from person to person.

Abortion vs emergency contraception, which is more harmful?

Some people will ask other questions, such as: which is more harmful than emergency contraception or drug abortion?

▲Image source: reader's private message

In fact, it is still a question of contrast, because it is also a question of choosing the lesser of two evils.

After pregnancy, there are risks in the drug flow, such as: incomplete peeling, some need to be removed twice, and there is a risk of heavy bleeding, so you may need to be hospitalized and closely observed.

Taking emergency contraceptive pills also has an impact on the body, due to a large intake of estrogen and progesterone, menstruation will change in the next few months, skin state, diet, mood, etc. will have an impact.

You see, when we talk about this, we're basically talking about which hurts less and which hurts more, because the damage is always there.

▲Image source: Screenshot from this video

Therefore, if we want to compare, the most harmful, physiological level of far-reaching and long-lasting, affecting the organs and the wider range of the body, is actually pregnancy.

The second is abortion with artificial surgery, because the surgery itself is risky.

Finally, the risk of drug flow is actually a little smaller than the risk of surgery, but it also has requirements for people's timing selection, their own physical conditions and medical level.

And the risk of abortion is a little greater than that of emergency contraception... But if you have the opportunity to do good contraception, there is no need to take emergency contraception.

▲Image source: Screenshot from this video

As long as the regular and effective methods of contraception, such as condoms or short-acting contraceptives, are used correctly during sex, the damage is much less than that of emergency contraception, and when these are done, the risk for women is greatly reduced. Therefore, when we put these choices in front of us, we know how to avoid risks and avoid putting ourselves in greater risks and problems.

When one day, someone really faces the choice of childbearing, they can fully understand the pros and cons, various risks and problems, whether there is a way, strategy, and logic to solve or prevent those risks, these are the directions we can work towards.

I don't just put the risk in front of everyone and don't care, but I still want to tell you how to avoid risks, how to prevent risks, how to protect ourselves, just like we can't just because there are many bacteria and microorganisms around us in real life, we don't breathe.

▲Image source: Screenshot from this video

In short, through this discussion, I hope that the risk you take is as light as possible, and if you have to choose one of the two injuries, I also put this "comparison formula" in front of you so that everyone can judge. However, it is important to weigh the risks clearly, make your own judgments rationally, and bear the consequences of your choices.

Well, this issue we will talk about this, I hope to bring you some thinking, because in real life, these problems, I often see when I see it, I am helpless, because I can't make it up, so I hope to be able to do some basic knowledge or risk assessment before you really fall into risk.