No matter what you choose to do about your unplanned pregnancy, an ultrasound answers three very essential questions:
- Is my pregnancy viable (developing) or have I miscarried?
- How far along am I in my pregnancy?
- Is the pregnancy safely located in the uterus?
The answer to each one of these questions determines whether you qualify for an abortion and what type of abortion you will have.
Embrace provides no-cost ultrasounds once you’ve received a positive result with one of our no-cost pregnancy tests. Schedule your appointment today.
Is it Possible I’m Not Pregnant?
Experts estimate as many as 26% of all pregnancies end in a miscarriage. Many times, those miscarriages happen even before a woman knows she’s pregnant.
Because it takes a woman’s body time to return to pre-pregnancy hormone levels, it is possible to get a positive pregnancy test result and no longer be pregnant. This test result is known as a false positive.
An ultrasound determines if your pregnancy is developing or if you have miscarried. A viable pregnancy is growing with a detectable heartbeat.
Why Do I Need to Know How Far Along I Am?
How many weeks you have been pregnant determines the method of abortion. The FDA approves the use of abortion drugs through 10 weeks of pregnancy only. Abortion drugs are for a medical abortion, also known as the abortion pill method.
Women usually take the abortion drugs at home. The farther along you are can affect the amount of bleeding and pain you experience from the contractions. Some women report extreme pain.
You can also opt for a surgical procedure. Abortion providers use vacuum or suction aspiration for early pregnancies. The farther along you are, the more the provider may need to add a curette for scraping or forceps.
Why Does the Location of the Pregnancy Matter?
Sometimes, the pregnancy implants in a fallopian tube, which leads to the uterus. A pregnancy not located in the uterus is called an ectopic pregnancy.
An ectopic pregnancy can be extremely dangerous, even life-threatening. If it continues growing, it could cause the tube to burst. This results in serious internal bleeding, and you’ll need immediate treatment for this condition.
An abortion does not remove an ectopic pregnancy.
Get a No-Cost Ultrasound
Embrace wants you to have the information you need to protect your health and safety. Even though Embrace does not perform or refer for abortions, we do provide no-cost, confidential pregnancy testing and ultrasounds.
To schedule an appointment, please fill out our convenient online contact form, call (316) 945-9400, or text (316) 800-9501. The Embrace team cares about you.
All abortion information sourced in this blog is based on accurate information at the time of writing.