A pregnancy ultrasound is a painless medical test that gives your healthcare provider valuable information about your pregnancy. A small wand-like transducer captures images onto an ultrasound screen for a physician to examine.

“So, why do I need an ultrasound if I want an abortion?” It’s a good question, and this article will answer by offering three important reasons to have an ultrasound — even if you’re considering abortion.

One crucial reason is that having an ultrasound empowers you since it allows you to be fully informed about your pregnancy. Keep reading to learn about three additional reasons to have an ultrasound.

Reason 1: An Ultrasound Tells You if Your Pregnancy Is Viable — Or Nonviable

An abortion decision is complex, and no one wants to have an abortion they don’t need. So be sure you have a viable pregnancy before proceeding because abortion isn’t necessary for a nonviable pregnancy.

You might be wondering, “What exactly is a nonviable pregnancy?” A nonviable pregnancy has zero chance of survival.

A positive pregnancy test only tells you that pregnancy hormones were detected in your urine. But it can’t tell you if the pregnancy is viable; only an ultrasound can give you that information.

An ultrasound determines whether your pregnancy is viable or nonviable by detecting a fetal heartbeat or heart rate. It will reveal if there is no heartbeat when one would be expected or if the fetus’s heart rate is very low, often indicating an impending miscarriage.

Miscarriage may be more common than you imagined. A study of 221 women revealed a 31% rate of miscarriage after implantation.

Reason 2: An Ultrasound Reveals the Location of Your Pregnancy

The next reason to have an ultrasound is that it reveals the location of your pregnancy. If a fertilized egg implants in the fallopian tube rather than the uterus, it’s called an ectopic pregnancy.

An ectopic pregnancy is a medical emergency, and the only way to detect it is by ultrasound.

If you take the abortion pill (a medical abortion), not realizing you have an ectopic pregnancy, you may dangerously misinterpret ectopic pregnancy pain for abortion pain and delay treatment. As a result, your fallopian tube can rupture, which is life-threatening.

Reason 3: An Ultrasound Let’s You Know How Far Along You Are

The third reason to have an ultrasound is to know how far along you are in your pregnancy, also referred to as gestational age.

Determining gestational age by the first day of your last period (LMP) can’t give you an accurate assessment of how far along you are. There are several reasons for this, including,

• You may not remember your LMP
• Ovulation may have occurred early or late in your menstrual cycle, making your date of conception different than expected
• You may have unknowingly counted implantation bleeding as a period, making you further along in your pregnancy

An ultrasound provides you with an accurate gestational age, which is critical to know because risks change, and different options are available to you depending on how far along you are in your pregnancy.

Your Safety Matters

At Corbella Clinic, your safety matters. We believe you are beautiful and valuable, so we offer no-cost services that provide the accurate information you deserve about your unexpected pregnancy.

Reach out to Corbella today for your confidential appointment.

References:

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2020, December 18). Ectopic pregnancy. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ectopic-pregnancy/symptoms-causes/syc-20372088.

Nall, Rachel. (2019, May 31). Can Implantation Bleeding Be Heavy? What to Expect. Healthline. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/heavy-implantation-bleeding.

Wilcox, A. J., Al., E., & Author AffiliationsFrom the Epidemiology Branch (A.J.W. (1988, July 28). Incidence of early loss of pregnancy: Nejm. New England Journal of Medicine. Retrieved from https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM198807283190401.