An ultrasound determines whether you are pregnant, how far along you are, and the pregnancy’s location. Why do these three things matter?
- It’s possible to get a positive pregnancy test days or even weeks after a miscarriage.
- The FDA only approves the abortion pill method through 10 weeks of pregnancy.
- Your pregnancy can be life-threatening if located outside your uterus.
What If You Aren’t Pregnant?
Experts estimate that as many as 26% of all pregnancies end in a miscarriage, and 80% of those occur in the first 12 weeks. A pregnancy test may have been positive, but you may have miscarried.
You need to take more than one pregnancy test, waiting several days in between. Depending on how long you were pregnant, it can take days or weeks for your body to return to its pre-pregnancy hormone levels after a miscarriage.
Were You Wanting to Use the Abortion Pill Method?
The FDA highly regulates the first drug, mifepristone, in the abortion pill regimen. Only certified providers should prescribe it. Mifepristone is approved through 10 weeks of pregnancy only. The drug becomes less effective the farther along you are in your pregnancy.
Some of the risks of using the drug include the following, according to the Mayo Clinic:
- An incomplete abortion: the drugs terminated the pregnancy, but not all of the pregnancy tissue left the body. An incomplete abortion could result in serious health complications.
- An ongoing pregnancy
- Heavy and prolonged bleeding
- Infection
Is Your Pregnancy Located in the Correct Place?
A pregnancy not located in the uterus is called an ectopic pregnancy. This type of pregnancy can be extremely dangerous, even life-threatening. An abortion does not remove an ectopic pregnancy.
Sometimes, the pregnancy implants in a fallopian tube, which leads to the uterus. If it continues growing, it could cause the tube to burst. This results in serious internal bleeding. You’ll need immediate treatment for this condition.
How Do You Find the Answer to These Questions?
An ultrasound can give you the answers you need. BsideU for Life offers limited, no-cost ultrasounds. An ultrasound detects whether your pregnancy is growing or if you have had a miscarriage.
Ultrasounds also determine how far along you are in your pregnancy and if it is ectopic. Start with no-cost pregnancy testing to get an ultrasound at BsideU for Life. We’ll schedule you for this vital scan if your test is positive.
You can conveniently schedule your appointment online, call us at (502) 589-9400, or text us at (502) 309-4951. Although we do not perform or refer for abortions, we’ll be happy to answer your questions and give you more information about abortion procedures.
All abortion information sourced in this blog is based on accurate information at the time of writing.