Photos show what pregnancy tissue really looks like before 10 weeks

Gestational sacs show the progression from five weeks to eight weeks of pregnancy. MYA Network Abortion is restricted in many US states, including 13 where the procedure is illegal at any stage of pregnancy. Most abortions in the US take place before the embryo is visible to the naked eye.

Clinicians with the MYA Network are sharing what early pregnancy tissue really looks like. Few people know what pregnancy tissue looks like in the first trimester. Decidua, or uterine lining, at four weeks of pregnancy.

MYA NetworkMost images of pregnancy show a fetus in the later stages of development, which leaves an information gap for the earliest stages of pregnancy, Dr. Joan Fleischman told Insider. Fleischman, a family doctor, has provided abortions for more than 25 years.

She regularly removes tissue associated with early pregnancy, but most people don’t get to see what she sees in her job. This was the idea behind “The Issue of Tissue,” a collection of photos of fetal tissue published by the MYA Network. The network includes doctors, patients, and activists seeking to counter misinformation about pregnancy and abortion.

 The first image in the series (pictured above) shows pregnancy tissue extracted at four weeks. At this stage, Fleischman explained, most of the tissue associated with the pregnancy comes from the uterine lining (or decidua). This is the same lining that thickens every month ahead of a person’s period, to support a potential pregnancy.

The embryo is not visible to the naked eye. Gestational sac at five weeks of pregnancy. MYA NetworkIn the first nine weeks of pregnancy, the developing embryo is a microscopic cluster of cells.

Dr. Kristyn Brandi, an OB/GYN who was not involved in the project, told Insider that the photos of pregnancy tissue accurately depict what she sees when she provides abortion care or miscarriage management at this stage of pregnancy.  “Usually we’re seeing the sac and the decidua together,” Brandi said.

“Sometimes our jobs, in order to make sure that we’ve removed the pregnancy, involve weeding through the decidua in order to find this very, very tiny sac. But this is all we would see. “Fleischman told Insider that she removed the supportive tissue, or decidua, for most of the photos included in the project (with the exception of the four-week slide).

This way, the tiny gestational sac — less than a half-inch wide at five weeks — is more easily visible.  There is no “heart” at six weeks of pregnancy. Gestational sac at six weeks of pregnancy.

MYA NetworkAt six weeks of pregnancy, some of the cells that will later form the heart begin to “beat. “This electrical activity can be seen on an ultrasound, giving rise to so-called “heartbeat bills” that ban abortion after six weeks. However, the heart does not yet exist at six weeks of pregnancy.

There are cells that will come together to form the heart, but they don’t function as a heart until much later in the pregnancy. In fact, many states outlaw abortion at before the fetus would be able to survive outside of the uterus. An embryo becomes a fetus at 10 weeks of pregnancy, but that fetus is unlikely to survive outside of a pregnant person until about 23 weeks gestation, Brandi said.

The gestational sac houses the developing embryo. Gestational sac at seven weeks of pregnancy. MYA NetworkThe gestational sac is a thin membrane filled with fluid that will nourish the embryo and fetus throughout the pregnancy.

The embryo essentially creates its own “house” in the beginning stages of pregnancy, Fleischman said. This sac is visible from about five weeks onward. Here, at seven weeks, it measures about an inch in diameter.

While the photos offer a rarely seen perspective on early development, they can’t capture the nuances of how people feel about their pregnancies, Brandi added. “For some people, this is a clump of cells,” she said. “For other people, this is a very desired baby.

I think it’s okay to honor both of those things. ”  “This is what the vast majority of abortion care looks like,” Brandi said. Gestational sac at eight weeks of pregnancy.

MYA Network”It’s important to dispel myths about abortion and early pregnancy care — that it’s not necessarily what people see on billboards that anti-choice people carry,” she continued.  With “The Issue of Tissue,” the MYA network aims to fill the information gap surrounding early pregnancy. “We’re not saying anything about a good or bad time to end a pregnancy,” Fleischman told Insider.

“We’re simply saying this is missing information that was out there, and I think you can see from the response that people are pretty surprised by what it looks like. “Around 85% of all abortions in the US happen before nine weeks of pregnancy, according to the MYA Network. Gestational sac at nine weeks of pregnancy.

MYA NetworkAt this stage, pregnant patients may opt to get a medical or surgical abortion in states where the procedure is legal. For an in-clinic abortion, most providers will use a handheld suction device to remove early pregnancy tissue. Alternatively, people can opt to take two pills for a mostly at-home abortion.

Some states require that the first pill, mifepristone, be taken in a doctor’s office, but patients can also safely and effectively take these medications at home.  Accurate imagery can help support family planning. Gestational sacs show the progression from five weeks to nine weeks of pregnancy.

MYA NetworkRegardless of how someone feels when they become pregnant, the images that are available to them do not usually support all of their options, Fleischman said. “Seeing what it actually looks like when it comes out is helpful to support people to make the decision they need to make,” she said. Brandi said that a lot of her patients have asked her if they could look at their pregnancy tissue after their abortions or miscarriages.

Having access to photos like these ahead of time could help them make informed decisions about their pregnancies, she said. Read the original article on Insider.