When you’re making important early pregnancy decisions, it’s important to have a qualified health care professional provide you with an ultrasound scan. You deserve to know the medical status of your pregnancy. And you deserve complete information about what each option available to you can mean for your health going forward.
The health care professionals at a pregnancy medical center see you as a whole person. They know you need even more than medical facts. You will also need insights on the kinds of support available to you, for your unique situation.
All that care stems from your ultrasound scan. So, let’s begin there.
Early pregnancy ultrasound can confirm your pregnancy after taking a pregnancy test. But it does much more.
Early pregnancy ultrasound is key to knowing three crucial facts about your pregnancy:
- Viability
- Gestational age
- Location
Here’s why each of these facts is so important to your health and your decision-making process.
Viability of the pregnancy
“Viability” in early pregnancy refers to whether a pregnancy is expected to continue developing normally. Using early pregnancy ultrasound, a health care professional can discern whether your pregnancy is healthy and making normal progress.
A non-viable pregnancy is one that is not progressing normally and is likely to end on its own, resulting in pregnancy loss or miscarriage.
Why is the viability of a pregnancy important to know?
For a woman considering an abortion, knowing her pregnancy is already in the process of natural termination will spare her undergoing that medical procedure.
For other women, understanding their pregnancy’s status helps them to either gear up for a healthy pregnancy or gather the support they’ll need to face pregnancy loss.
Gestational age of the fetus
“Gestation” is the period of time from conception to birth, and usually lasts around 40 weeks. “Gestational age” refers to how far along the fetus is in that period. It is measured in weeks, calculating from the woman’s last menstrual period to the present date.
When performed by a trained health care professional, early pregnancy ultrasound is a powerful tool for determining gestational age, or how far your pregnancy has progressed.
Why do you need to know gestational age?
Gestational age is your first indicator of your baby’s due date. Knowing this piece of information can set in motion your planning for baby’s arrival, such as managing your health care, scheduling maternity leave, taking parenting classes, preparing your home, and so forth.
Alternatively, you may want to use the weeks ahead to arrange an adoption plan if you don’t feel prepared to parent at this time.
For women considering abortion, gestational age determines which procedures are available at their stage of pregnancy. See this page for more information on how gestational age influences your range of abortion options.
Location of pregnancy
A vital question to get answered early in pregnancy is whether that pregnancy has begun within the womb (uterus) or outside it. Women’s bodies are designed to sustain a pregnancy inside the uterus: only there can their hormones, triggered at conception, help them naturally create a nurturing environment with plenty of room for their babies to grow.
However, sometimes a fertilized egg lodges outside the uterus, such as in a fallopian tube. This puts a woman’s life at serious risk for rupture of her fallopian tube.
You may have heard of this kind of “ectopic pregnancy,” which must be treated immediately. An ectopic pregnancy is not viable—the fetus will not survive in any case—and continuing it only endangers the woman’s life.
Why do you need to know a pregnancy’s location?
If your pregnancy has begun outside your uterus, you need immediate medical treatment. (Please note: Because an ectopic pregnancy is not viable, surgically removing it is not considered abortion, so it is legal—and necessary—in all fifty states.)
Abortion will not treat or end an ectopic pregnancy. All abortion methods aim to remove a fetus from the uterus. They do not address a pregnancy that is developing anywhere else. Therefore, knowing a pregnancy’s location will keep you from making the potentially deadly mistake of letting an ectopic pregnancy keep growing while you believe an abortion has ended it.
If your pregnancy has begun inside your uterus, you can safely take time to make your next decisions after carefully considering all the options before you.
Choices Pregnancy Center’s Trained Health Care Professionals Provide Early Pregnancy Ultrasound
At Choices Pregnancy Center in Redwood Falls and Marshall, Minnesota, you can receive the kind of early pregnancy ultrasound you need to confirm your pregnancy and equip you with the key medical facts about your pregnancy: viability, gestational age, and location. Ultrasound is provided at no cost. That’s right. It’s free, just like all our services.
Our Nurse Manager is an RN trained in limited obstetrical ultrasound. She will perform your scan and send it to our Medical Director, an MD practicing in our local hospital, for him to read. Based on their combined medical expertise, you can feel confident with their report and recommendations.
Our medical staff actively maintains a network of area health care providers, so they can quickly refer you to other medical professionals for primary care or for emergency treatment if needed. We can also connect you with a wide array of community resources, empowering you to make the best choices for your whole life, even beyond pregnancy.
Because we care deeply about all our clients—mothers, fathers, and babies—we are committed to taking the time you need to discuss any questions or concerns you may have about the situation around your pregnancy. So when you schedule an ultrasound appointment, you’ll receive more than just a medical exam. You will find yourself heard, supported, informed, and loved. No matter how you decide to move forward.
Pregnancy is a pivotal time in a person’s life. At Choices Pregnancy Center, we equip you to face the experience with confidence, knowing you are acting on complete, accurate information about all the options and support you have available.
So don’t wait. Schedule your early pregnancy ultrasound today.
Want to know more? Chat live with our staff (see pop-up in bottom right corner of this page) to put your mind at ease.