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If you think you might be pregnant and would like more information about pregnancy, your options, and available resources, Care Net can help. Care Net Pregnancy Center of Mason County offers free, limited medical services, including:
Free urine pregnancy tests are available at Care Net. The tests are lab quality and 99% accurate according to the manufacturer. They detect the hormone HcG in a woman’s urine to determine if she is pregnant or not. The test can be read within 4 minutes. Call for an appointment today if you would like to schedule a pregnancy test. A first trimester limited ultrasound can be done at Care Net for the purpose of verifying your pregnancy. The ultrasound is usually done between 6 and 12 weeks from the last menstrual cycle. The ultrasound is performed by a Registered Nurse and reviewed by an OB/GYN MD. An ultrasound can give an estimated age in weeks of your pregnancy and be useful in telling if the pregnancy is viable (expected to continue normally). This information is helpful in decision making. A physician must always confirm your estimated due date and address any specific medical questions. Receiving an ultrasound at Care Net does not constitute prenatal care. All pregnant clients are referred for ongoing prenatal care with a local qualified MD. Ultrasounds work using high-frequency sound waves, which are transmitted into the woman and reflected back through a transducer. Ultrasounds are well known for providing a non-invasive way of gathering medical information. They have been used for over 30 years, and no risks have been identified with their use. We do not do ultrasounds on women who are already established with a medical provider for prenatal care, nor do we do ultrasounds for “entertainment purposes”, such as determining the sex of the baby, etc… The staff and client advocates at Care Net Pregnancy Center of Mason County are familiar with the available community resources in Mason County and the surrounding area. They can provide referrals for financial aid, medical care, adoption, housing, childcare, counseling, legal assistance, and more. Please call to make an appointment. Care Net Pregnancy Center does not provide or refer for abortion services. The medical staff at Care Net Pregnancy Center of Mason County is more than happy to address questions you may have at an appointment. However, you may want some of this information right now! We hope the following questions and answers might address some of your concerns. For more information, please call for a one on one appointment with our nurse today. Q: How and when can I find out I am pregnant? A: Care Net offers free, lab quality urine pregnancy tests which are 99% accurate, according to the manufacturer, in detecting HcG, the hormone which is produced by pregnancy. After conception, the level of this hormone rapidly rises, up to 100 mIU/ml by the time of the first missed menstrual cycle. The test used at Care Net can accurately detect HcG levels of just 20mIU/ml. A test can be effective within 10 days after conception. Q: What are some symptoms of pregnancy? A: Some of the signs that you might be pregnant are: a missed period, tender or swollen breasts, frequent urination, nausea and/or vomiting, fatigue, food cravings, darkening of the nipples. Q: How safe is ultrasound? A: Ultrasound is the use of sound waves bounced off parts of the body to produce an image. In the case of pregnancy, it is an image of the baby. In over 30 years of use, there have been no findings or evidence of any detrimental effects to the mother or developing baby. There is no radiation used in ultrasound. Ultrasound should be done by a trained medical professional to answer a specific question about the pregnancy. At Care Net, all ultrasounds are performed by trained Registered Nurses for the purpose of verifying the viability of a first trimester pregnancy. Q: When can I get pregnant? A: Women can become pregnant while using birth control, spermacides, and even condoms. In general, ovulation occurs approximately 15 days before the next menstrual cycle begins. This is the most likely time for conception to occur, although there is never a guarantee. The various types of contraception have varying failure rates. Abstaining from sexual relationships is the only way to guarantee that a woman will not get pregnant . Q: What can you tell me about “the morning after pill”? A: The morning after pill, or “Plan B” one of its marketed names, is a term for a group of medications which can be prescribed for a woman to take within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse. The medications can work in various ways to prevent or stop a pregnancy from beginning or implanting in the uterus. The approved use of “Plan B” is for within 72 hours or 3 days only from the time of possible conception. Beware of clinics that do not follow the FDA prescriptive guidelines for these medications. For more information on Plan B please go to: http://www.fda.gov/cder/foi/label/1999/21045ppilbl.pdf Q: What can you tell me about RU-486? A: "The Abortion Pill" known as RU-486 is the use of 2 drugs which are given to a woman to induce a “medical abortion”. The first pill stops the growth of the baby in the uterus. It can also stop pregnancies that are developing in the fallopian tube. The second pill causes contractions and empties the uterus. RU-486 is approved for use up to the 49th day of pregnancy, or 7 weeks from the last menstrual cycle. The FDA approved dosage of RU-486 is for the medication to be taken by mouth, and only within the first 49 days of pregnancy. The safety of taking the medication by another route (intravaginally) or after 49 days pregnant has not been established. Again, beware of clinics that may not follow the FDA and manufacturer’s approved prescriptive guidelines for this medication. For more information on the approved use of RU-486 go to: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/advisory/mifeprex200603.htm Q: If I am pregnant, can you tell me how far along I am? A: Your estimated due date and estimated number of weeks into your pregnancy can be calculated by using the date of the first day of your last menstrual cycle. This date is very important to know if you are coming in for a pregnancy test appointment. Once a positive test has been done, you will be given a referral to a medical doctor or you can choose your own physician for pre-natal care that will make a determination of your actual due date. Ultrasound is also very effective in determining due dates, and again a physician determines your actual due date by reviewing the information obtained from the ultrasound. |
Last revised: December 8, 2006 | |||
