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Facts About Medical Abortion You Might Not Know
A medical abortion, also known as the “abortion pill,” is the process of terminating a pregnancy with drugs.
Even if you are thinking about abortion, an ultrasound is essential to provide you with key details about your pregnancy that will reveal which options are available to you.
We’ll share the main reasons you should receive an ultrasound before deciding on abortion.
What Can An Ultrasound Tell Me?
An ultrasound is a diagnostic tool that uses sound waves to make pictures of the body.
Ultrasound technology uses a small transducer (handheld device) that emits sound waves into the body and then collects the sound waves that bounce back, creating images displayed on a screen. The images can help guide diagnosis and treatment for pregnancy and many diseases and conditions.
The Location of Your Pregnancy
An ultrasound can verify whether your pregnancy is correctly located in the uterus. In certain situations, a pregnancy may be ectopic, which means the fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, most commonly in a fallopian tube.
Even if you have an ectopic pregnancy, a pregnancy test will still come back positive, and you might experience typical pregnancy symptoms. However, this condition is extremely dangerous and cannot result in a live birth.
Ectopic pregnancies require immediate treatment by a medical professional. If an ultrasound detects an ectopic pregnancy, prompt treatment is essential to prevent life-threatening complications.
How Far Along You Are (Gestational Age)
Discovering your gestational age, or how far along you are, is critical to determining what abortion procedures you’re eligible for.
For example, the abortion pill is only FDA-approved through ten weeks gestation. After that, you would have to consider an alternative procedure, such as a surgical abortion, for your safety.
Period tracking apps and similar tools can give you an idea but lack precision. An ultrasound can accurately date your pregnancy.
If Your Pregnancy Is Progressing
Did you know that an estimated 26% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage? An abortion would not be the right treatment for a situation in which you have miscarried.
An ultrasound is critical in determining if your pregnancy is progressing and checking for a miscarriage.
Protect Your Health
As we’ve outlined, an ultrasound is a critical step in protecting your health as you consider making an abortion decision.
Find a Pregnancy Care Provider here, where you receive a free ultrasound and other services to help you feel supported during your pregnancy.