3 Things Needed Before Abortion

If you’re unexpectedly pregnant and considering abortion, it’s essential to get some key details about your pregnancy. Abortion is a serious medical procedure, and as with any medical procedure, you’ll want to know as much as you can beforehand.

We’ll go through three things you need before an abortion. Or, if you’d like to talk to someone one-on-one, Options Pregnancy Resources is here for you to get the answers to your burning questions. We also offer free pregnancy services to help you feel equipped to make a decision with confidence.

1. Confirm Your Pregnancy

You may have already taken an at-home pregnancy test, but it is crucial to confirm your pregnancy with a lab-quality test.

At-home pregnancy tests are very reliable, but there are various ways you could get a false reading. Taking the test too early, improper use of the test, or misreading because of confusing evaporation lines are just some of the ways that you can get a false result.

2. Get Details About Your Pregnancy

Have you had an ultrasound yet? This simple scan is an important step you should consider before scheduling an abortion.

An ultrasound can tell you:

Viability: Whether your pregnancy is developing and there is a detectable fetal heartbeat
Gestational age: How far along you are
Location: Whether your pregnancy is located in the uterus. (A pregnancy outside the uterus -an ectopic pregnancy- is a potentially life threatening condition and requires immediate medical intervention.)

An ultrasound will date your pregnancy and determine which procedures are medically available to you. For instance, the abortion pill is only FDA-approved through ten weeks gestation, meaning it would be unsafe to take after ten weeks of pregnancy.

3. Get Informed

You will want to be informed about possible risks and side effects of abortion. There are many potential psychological, physical and emotional risks to your health. The physical risks differ with each type of procedure, depending on whether a woman takes the abortion pill or has a surgical abortion.

What’s often overlooked is the effect an abortion can have on your mental health. Although many women report a sense of relief immediately following their abortion, they can experience negative effects months and even years down the road. In addition, abortion is consistently associated with elevated rates of mental illness compared to women without a history of abortion.

Being aware of these risks is crucial to protect your health and well-being.