How to Recover Emotionally After an Abortion

Recover Emotionally After an Abortion

Whether it is you or a loved one of yours who has gone through an abortion, the process of making the decision and eventually proceed with it is never easy. Especially when you are the one who is going through the abortion, the whole process is often physically and emotionally taxing.

Since your body has previously gone through a series of changes to support the growth of the fetus, post-abortion symtomps can be very similar to postpartum symptoms and take a toll on your overall health. 

Often overlooked, most women also has to deal with a series of negative feelings like confusion, anger, blame, conflict, guilt, shame, isolation and fear during and after the abortion. Regardless of whether these emotions arise from within herself or they are caused by the people around her, they can lead to a range of problems, from low self-esteem, relationship problems, to mental health issues. Therefore, the period right after your abortion is not only an important time for you to restore your physical health, but also your mental and emotion well-being. 


That said, we understand that this is a hard time for you, and how you might not feel like doing or thinking about anything at the moment, and that’s okay. You can think of the following tips as suggestions that you can always come back to when you feel like it. 

And if you eventually feel up to giving them a try, take one step at a time, and don’t worry if you don’t practice them everyday — recovery takes time, and it’s completely normal to have ups and downs in the process.

Alright, ready? Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can recover emotionally after an abortion:

1. Give yourself a break

By this, we mean literally and emotionally. You might feel like you need to start getting busy with your life again, hoping that the hecticness will keep your mind occupied and distracted from any negative emotions that you may have. 

However, if the situation allows, you may consider taking a few days or weeks off work and take the time to not only let your body heal, but also to process and digest your feelings. This is also why there’s the traditional Chinese practice of having mini confinement after abortion. Give yourself the permission to feel sad and down, as acknowledging your emotions is the first step towards accepting them and moving on.

During your break, try to get sufficient sleep and allow yourself to wake up naturally without an alarm. Take a break from your phone and social media if necessary, and really spend time doing things that make you feel at ease and relaxed, this can be watching your favourite shows, or picking up a childhood hobby.


2. Express your feelings with someone you trust

When you are feeling ready to share your emotions with the people around you, consider talking to someone about how you feel or even just to cry. Sometimes, instead of keeping your thoughts to yourself and letting the negative emotions build up, talking to another person and listening to your thoughts in the process, can actually help you put things into perspective and help you view your situation from a different angle.

However, do mind that you should carefully decide who to share your experience with. Sometimes, going to a close friend or a family member — who may have different views on abortion or lack the professional information to understand your difficulties — might cause you to feel even more invalidated.

Hence, choose someone who you think can be understanding, compassionate and most importantly not judgemental about your situation, which brings us to our next suggestion.


3. Consider professional counselling

If you feel the need to talk to someone about how you feel, but couldn’t find the right person to talk to, getting the advice of a certified and experienced consultant or medical professional may help.

Just like how we see a doctor when our body is feeling unwell, it’s normal for us to seek professional care for our mind and emotions too. A good place to start is by talking to the medical team that performed your abortion surgery, ask if they have any counselling sessions or other resources that can help.

Furthemore, you can keep an eye on non-governmental organisation or abortion support groups. These communities are often formed by women who had also gone through the same experience as you, and they can be a good source for you to learn about how to heal from abortion as well as other practical support.


4. Maintain a healthy diet

When it comes to having a healthy diet, the first thing that comes to our mind tends to be how it helps with our physical health. But did you know that maintaining a healthy diet also helps to lift and stabilise our mood? In fact, studies have discovered that healthy diets can help with symptoms of anxiety and depression.

To start with a well-balanced diet, fill half of your plate with vegetables and fruits, a quarter with wholegrains, and the other quarter with meat or other types of protein like tofu. Remember to stay hydrated with water, and avoid consuming alcohol for the time being.


Get yourself the best nourishment for recovery

Confinement food

With your body and mind going through significant changes, planning and preparing your daily meals could be the last thing on your mind, which is why some women did not manage to get proper nutrition during their post-abortion stage. This can slow down the healing process and potentially affect health in the long run.

Give yourself the nourishment to properly recover with the convenient confinement food delivery service from Tian Wei Signature. Carefully guided by our in-house accredited dietitian, our meals support your recovery during confinement after abortion with nourishing ingredients to boost your physical and mental recovery. 

Our meals are all MSG-free, and you have the flexibility to leave out any lactogenic (milk-boosting) ingredients, herbs, chicken, eggs or any other ingredients based on your preference.

Also, we keep your diet interesting and nutritious with a huge variety of well-balanced fusion and traditional meals, with over 90 meat and vegetable dishes. We serve some of the best foods to eat after abortion to promote your recovery, include foods that are rich in iron, vitamin C, calcium, folate, fibre and protein — which are all essential to speed up your wound healing, replenish blood and lift your mood.

Being an award-winning catering service, we are regarded as the best confinement meal Singapore service by thousands of happy customers since we started. 


Interested to learn more about our menu and packages? Call us at +65 6727 5599! We are available to assist you from 9a.m. to 7p.m. on weekdays, and from 10a.m. to 7p.m. on weekends.

Lastly, before you go, we just want to remind you to give yourself grace and take all the time you need to feel like yourself again. Take care, and we sincerely wish you a smooth and easy recovery.