Pregnancy Confirmation

First, you need to know for sure whether or not you are pregnant with a viable pregnancy.

At ArborVitae, we confirm or rule out a possible pregnancy by having a nurse administer a urine pregnancy test. If that test is positive and other medical indications met, one of our nurses will also perform what's called a "limited obstetrical ultrasound." This type of first trimester ultrasound can establish for sure whether a woman is pregnant. Our medical director, a licensed ob/gyn physician, will read the ultrasound scan and determine medically whether there is a viable pregnancy inside the uterus.

You may have already taken a home pregnancy test, which indicates whether a certain amount of pregnancy hormone is in your blood. However, there are reasons a woman can have what's called a “false positive.” For instance, this can happen if she was briefly pregnant, but had an early miscarriage.

Also, she could be pregnant, but the embryo did not implant properly in her womb (uterus). When an embryo mistakenly implants in a fallopian tube or somewhere else outside the womb, it's called "ectopic pregnancy." An ectopic pregnancy gives a positive pregnancy test, but is possibly very dangerous for a woman's health and probably fatal for the embryo as well. If you might have an ectopic pregnancy, you need medical care immediately.

The causes of ectopic pregnancy are unknown, but you're more likely to experience an ectopic pregnancy if you have had a previous ectopic pregnancy, have had certain sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea or chlamydia, have had a pelvic infection from an intrauterine device (IUD), got pregnant while an IUD was inside the uterus, or had a fallopian tube infection.

Having an ultrasound scan can also rule out the possibility of ectopic pregnancy.

We are happy to provide our clients with verifications of positive pregnancy test and the physician's determination of pregnancy based on his reading of the ultrasound scan.