Ultrasound

What Is An Ultrasound?

After a positive pregnancy test, our nurse or sonographer can perform a limited ultrasound scan at no cost to you. Ultrasound is an imaging method using high-frequency sound waves to capture an image from inside your body.

A nurse places a gel-like substance on your abdomen and rubs the gel with an instrument called a transducer. The transducer picks up echoes of the sound waves inside.

The echoes bounce back and electronically become black and white dots. Those dots reveal an image from inside your uterus, which you can view on a computer screen.

Why Do I Need An Ultrasound?

During your ultrasound, the nurse will be looking for three essential things:

1. Is Your Pregnancy Located in the Uterus?

A pregnancy located somewhere other than your uterus is called an ectopic pregnancy or tubal pregnancy. The pregnancy develops in the fallopian tube and can become life-threatening to you.

A positive pregnancy test won’t tell you whether your pregnancy is ectopic or in the uterus – only an ultrasound can, which makes it so vital.

2. Is Your Pregnancy Viable (Progressing)?

An ultrasound can identify a fetal heartbeat and heart rate by six or seven weeks. Your pregnancy may not be viable if a heartbeat cannot be detected. The Mayo Clinic reports that up to 20% of known pregnancies end in a natural miscarriage.

You can miscarry before you even know you’re pregnant, but it takes time for your body to release the pregnancy hormones.

3. How Far Along Are You in Your Pregnancy?

You need to know the number of weeks you’ve been pregnant, especially if you are considering abortion. You can have a medical abortion up to 10 weeks and 0 days (70 days from the first day of your last menstrual period). Accurate ultrasound measurements provide you with this information.