An ultrasound during early pregnancy can provide critical health and pregnancy details to inform your next steps. It protects your reproductive health and can even save your life. Keep reading to learn how that’s possible.
You can also visit us at Sumter Pregnancy Center for early pregnancy services. Ask us if you qualify for a no-cost ultrasound.
What Does an Ultrasound Tell You?
An ultrasound scan uses sound waves to create an image of the inside of your uterus. Based on these real-time images, your sonographer or nurse will tell you the following information.
Gestational Age (How Far Along You Are)
An ultrasound will take measurements to tell you how far along you are, which is your gestational age. It will also estimate your due date if you were to carry to term.
The FDA only approves the abortion pill through ten weeks of pregnancy, though our state laws restrict abortion sooner.
Women should never pursue the abortion pill without an ultrasound first for many reasons, one being that they could be farther along than ten weeks, leading to increased health risks.
Location (In the Uterus or Outside)
The uterus can stretch from the size of a lemon to a watermelon during pregnancy. No other organ in the body can stretch like this, making pregnancies outside of the uterus (ectopic pregnancies) dangerous. If a fertilized egg does not implant inside the uterus and instead implants somewhere else, like a fallopian tube, it’s an ectopic pregnancy.
Ectopic pregnancies are non-viable pregnancies and medical emergencies. If you do not have an ultrasound before taking abortion pills, you won’t realize you have a life-threatening condition until something serious happens, like feeling severe pain after a fallopian tube ruptures.
Whether Your Pregnancy Is Progressing with a Heartbeat
About 10-20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. An ultrasound will screen for a heartbeat. If a heartbeat cannot be found, it’s either too early to find one or a woman has miscarried.
Miscarriage is when a pregnancy ends on its own before the 20th week of pregnancy. This is a common experience, though emotionally challenging for many women. You will want to visit a doctor after a miscarriage to ensure there are no signs of infection.
Protecting Your Health Starts with an Ultrasound
No matter what pregnancy option you’re considering, start by verifying your pregnancy with an ultrasound. The details of this scan will help you understand your next steps and ensure you receive the care you need.
Sumter Pregnancy Center offers no-cost ultrasounds to women who qualify. Contact us to learn if you qualify. Our ultrasounds are not diagnostic. However, we refer women to their local emergency rooms if anything looks out of the ordinary that a doctor should review.