FAQ - MCN Network - Help When You're Pregnant

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I expect at one of your clinics if I schedule an appointment?

Upon Arrival:
You will be greeted by the front desk staff.

Some basic information will be asked of you. This is similar to any other medical appointment you would go to.  Following your check in, you will meet with a trained professional who will discuss some very basic routine health information. Search for a clinic in your area.

Free Pregnancy Test:
After our professional discusses basic information with you, it’s time to collect a urine sample. You will be instructed to go into a private restroom to collect the sample. This if for the purpose of gathering the medical verification of your prospective pregnancy—or pregnancy test. Search for a clinic in your area.

What If Your Test Returns Positive?
If your pregnancy test is positive, the medical staff (a sonographer, RDMS, or a licensed nurse with training in ultrasound) will review your medical history with you and determine if you are eligible for an ultrasound at this visit. If eligible, she will perform an ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy and to provide an estimation of how far along you are. If you are not yet eligible (it is too early), you will be scheduled for a time to come back within a few days or up to a week. Search for a clinic in your area.

What Next?
After your ultrasound, you will have opportunity to discuss all your options with a nurse. Search for a clinic in your area.

How many days a month can I get pregnant?

You should know . . . It is not possible for a woman to get pregnant about 26 days a month. Many of the days when women take the morning-after pill, it is impossible to get pregnant anyway. This fact makes “effectiveness” statistics for emergency contraception look much better than they really are.

What is the first sign of pregnancy?

A missed period is most common sign of a potential pregnancy. Click here for a list of more symptoms.

What is an ectopic pregnancy?

This is when the embryo is growing outside of a woman’s uterus, usually in her fallopian tube. This is a potentially life-threatening condition in which a fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus—most often in the fallopian tubes. The cramping and abdominal pain that may result from the use of a morning-after pill can mask the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy, which requires emergency care.

If the embryo is in the fallopian tube, the abortion pill won’t end the pregnancy and the embryo will continue to grow and could cause the tube to burst. Here’s the danger: The cramping and abdominal pain that are normal after the use of the abortion pill are a lot like the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy. A woman might not realize until it’s too late that she needs to seek emergency care—and this puts her life at risk. If a woman has little or no bleeding after taking misoprostol, it could also be a warning sign for ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy is an emergency—the woman’s doctor or the emergency room at the hospital should be contacted right away. The best option is for a woman to get an ultrasound before having a medical abortion.

Why should I be concerned with an ectopic pregnancy?

• This is a potentially life-threatening condition in which a fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus—most often in the fallopian tubes.
• The morning-after pill won’t end an ectopic pregnancy.
• If you have severe abdominal pain three to five weeks after using the morning-after pill, or if you miss your next menstrual period, you should see your health-care professional to rule out a pregnancy (either ectopic or within the uterus).
• An embryo growing in a fallopian tube will require emergency care. 7

You should know . . . The cramping and abdominal pain that may result from the use of a morning-after pill can mask the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy, which requires emergency care.

You should know . . . After the sperm penetrates and fertilizes the egg, 46 human chromosomes come together in a one-of-a-kind genetic design that determines a person’s eye and hair color, gender, skin tone, height and even the intricate swirl of the fingerprints.

You should know . . . The morning-after pill can’t guarantee that you won’t get pregnant, nor does it protect you from HIV/AIDS or other sexually-transmitted infections or diseases.

What happens if I use emergency contraception after fertilization?

• The high dose of levonorgestrel found in Plan B One-Step may irritate the lining of your uterus. That irritation may keep the embryo inside you from implanting, ending its life.
• With ella, the drug blocks progesterone, a hormone that helps your body maintain a pregnancy. While an embryo may have already been created, ella can keep it from implanting in your uterus and being sustained by your body, ending its life.
• If either of these happens, an abortion will occur, because each human life begins as an embryo.8

8 Keith L. Moore and T.V.N Persaud, The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 6th Edition (Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, 1998), pp. 2-3.

So, how can I know if an egg has been fertilized?

• That’s the problem—you can’t know.
• We do know that sperm can reach the fallopian tubes mere minutes after intercourse, and if an egg has already been released, fertilization could occur.
• So, by the time you wake up on the “morning after,” a new human life may have already begun.
If that’s the case, using emergency contraception might cause a very early abortion.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I expect at one of your clinics if I schedule an appointment?

Upon Arrival:
You will be greeted by the front desk staff.

Some basic information will be asked of you. This is similar to any other medical appointment you would go to.  Following your check in, you will meet with a trained professional who will discuss some very basic routine health information. Search for a clinic in your area.

Free Pregnancy Test:
After our professional discusses basic information with you, it’s time to collect a urine sample. You will be instructed to go into a private restroom to collect the sample. This if for the purpose of gathering the medical verification of your prospective pregnancy—or pregnancy test. Search for a clinic in your area.

What If Your Test Returns Positive?
If your pregnancy test is positive, the medical staff (a sonographer, RDMS, or a licensed nurse with training in ultrasound) will review your medical history with you and determine if you are eligible for an ultrasound at this visit. If eligible, she will perform an ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy and to provide an estimation of how far along you are. If you are not yet eligible (it is too early), you will be scheduled for a time to come back within a few days or up to a week. Search for a clinic in your area.

What Next?
After your ultrasound, you will have opportunity to discuss all your options with a nurse. Search for a clinic in your area.

How many days a month can I get pregnant?

You should know . . . It is not possible for a woman to get pregnant about 26 days a month. Many of the days when women take the morning-after pill, it is impossible to get pregnant anyway. This fact makes “effectiveness” statistics for emergency contraception look much better than they really are.

What is the first sign of pregnancy?

A missed period is most common sign of a potential pregnancy. Click here for a list of more symptoms.

What is an ectopic pregnancy?

This is when the embryo is growing outside of a woman’s uterus, usually in her fallopian tube. This is a potentially life-threatening condition in which a fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus—most often in the fallopian tubes. The cramping and abdominal pain that may result from the use of a morning-after pill can mask the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy, which requires emergency care.

If the embryo is in the fallopian tube, the abortion pill won’t end the pregnancy and the embryo will continue to grow and could cause the tube to burst. Here’s the danger: The cramping and abdominal pain that are normal after the use of the abortion pill are a lot like the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy. A woman might not realize until it’s too late that she needs to seek emergency care—and this puts her life at risk. If a woman has little or no bleeding after taking misoprostol, it could also be a warning sign for ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy is an emergency—the woman’s doctor or the emergency room at the hospital should be contacted right away. The best option is for a woman to get an ultrasound before having a medical abortion.

Why should I be concerned with an ectopic pregnancy?

• This is a potentially life-threatening condition in which a fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus—most often in the fallopian tubes.
• The morning-after pill won’t end an ectopic pregnancy.
• If you have severe abdominal pain three to five weeks after using the morning-after pill, or if you miss your next menstrual period, you should see your health-care professional to rule out a pregnancy (either ectopic or within the uterus).
• An embryo growing in a fallopian tube will require emergency care. 7

You should know . . . The cramping and abdominal pain that may result from the use of a morning-after pill can mask the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy, which requires emergency care.

You should know . . . After the sperm penetrates and fertilizes the egg, 46 human chromosomes come together in a one-of-a-kind genetic design that determines a person’s eye and hair color, gender, skin tone, height and even the intricate swirl of the fingerprints.

You should know . . . The morning-after pill can’t guarantee that you won’t get pregnant, nor does it protect you from HIV/AIDS or other sexually-transmitted infections or diseases.

What happens if I use emergency contraception after fertilization?

• The high dose of levonorgestrel found in Plan B One-Step may irritate the lining of your uterus. That irritation may keep the embryo inside you from implanting, ending its life.
• With ella, the drug blocks progesterone, a hormone that helps your body maintain a pregnancy. While an embryo may have already been created, ella can keep it from implanting in your uterus and being sustained by your body, ending its life.
• If either of these happens, an abortion will occur, because each human life begins as an embryo.8

8 Keith L. Moore and T.V.N Persaud, The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 6th Edition (Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, 1998), pp. 2-3.

So, how can I know if an egg has been fertilized?

• That’s the problem—you can’t know.
• We do know that sperm can reach the fallopian tubes mere minutes after intercourse, and if an egg has already been released, fertilization could occur.
• So, by the time you wake up on the “morning after,” a new human life may have already begun.
If that’s the case, using emergency contraception might cause a very early abortion.