3 Things Needed Before Abortion
Considering abortion can bring a sense of urgency, especially if you feel pressured by your circumstances or the people around you. Before deciding, take time to learn more about your pregnancy, health, and what abortion may involve.
Parkridge Pregnancy Medical Clinic offers free and confidential pregnancy services, including medical-grade pregnancy testing and STD testing. Following a positive test, you may also request a limited ultrasound, which is provided when clinically indicated.
Contact us to request a free appointment.
Start With Medical-Grade Pregnancy Testing
A pregnancy test detects human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, and is the first step in determining whether you may be pregnant.
Testing too early may produce a false-negative result because your body needs time to produce a detectable amount of hCG. Pregnancy tests are generally more reliable a day or two after a missed period. If your result is negative but your period does not begin, our team may recommend retesting.
Talk to a Parkridge Nurse About an Ultrasound
A limited ultrasound can estimate gestational age, identify whether the pregnancy is visible in the uterus, and look for signs that the pregnancy is continuing.
Knowing the gestational age affects your health and options. The FDA-approved abortion pill regimen is for an intrauterine pregnancy through 10 weeks of gestation.
If you qualify for an ultrasound, the scan may determine whether the pregnancy is visible inside the uterus. If the pregnancy’s location cannot be confirmed, further medical evaluation may be needed to rule out an ectopic pregnancy.
An ectopic pregnancy develops outside the uterus, most often in a fallopian tube, and requires separate medical treatment. If the pregnancy continues growing, the fallopian tube can rupture, causing life-threatening internal bleeding that requires emergency care. This is why learning the pregnancy’s location matters before considering abortion.
An ultrasound can also look for signs that the pregnancy is continuing, confirmed by a fetal heartbeat. About 10% to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage, so a positive pregnancy test alone cannot provide this information.
Get Free STD Testing
About 1 in 5 people in the United States has a sexually transmitted infection (STI), often called an STD. Many infections cause few or no symptoms, so testing may be the only way to know whether an infection is present.
Before a medical or surgical abortion, STD testing can identify an infection that may need treatment. This information matters because an untreated STD can affect your health regardless of the abortion method. If you are considering a surgical abortion, an untreated cervical infection such as chlamydia or gonorrhea may also increase the risk of an upper reproductive tract infection following the procedure. Knowing whether an infection is present gives you the opportunity to seek treatment and discuss the result with a qualified medical provider before making a decision.
Untreated chlamydia and gonorrhea can also lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, or PID. According to the CDC, PID may cause long-term pelvic pain, scarring or blockage of the fallopian tubes, ectopic pregnancy, and difficulty becoming pregnant in the future.
Parkridge Pregnancy Medical Clinic offers free STD testing as part of its confidential pregnancy services. Contact our team to learn which infections are included and what follow-up resources are available.
Begin With Your Health
You are not alone. Parkridge Pregnancy Medical Clinic provides compassionate care and free, confidential pregnancy services with no cost, no hassle, and no judgment.
Reach out to request medical-grade pregnancy testing or STD testing and ask whether you qualify for a limited ultrasound.
Parkridge Pregnancy Medical Clinic does not provide or refer for abortions.