Chapter 22: Helping a woman after a pregnancy ends early
Emergency care for problems after
miscarriage or abortion
The 2 most dangerous problems that women can have after miscarriage or abortion
are bleeding too much and infection.
Infection can happen when:
• tissue from the pregnancy is still inside the
woman’s womb after the
miscarriage or abortion
(see the next page).
• germs get into the womb
during an abortion, when
something that was not sterilized is used in the womb.
See page 409 for more about infection.
Bleeding too much can happen when:
• tissue from the pregnancy is still inside the
woman’s womb after the miscarriage or
abortion.
• the womb or vagina has been cut with a tool
during an abortion (see page 413).
• the womb becomes infected.
WARNING! If a woman has heavy
bleeding or a serious infection, she can
go into shock (see page 414) or even
die. Get medical help fast.
If you have been trained to help a
woman after an unsafe abortion or
miscarriage, you can help her yourself.
406
A Book for Midwives (2010)