Recent legislation has sought to banabortionsas soon as afetal heartbeatis detectable.
(Learn more about what it means to be six weeks pregnant here.)
Still, these so-called “heartbeat bills” have raised a bunch of questions.
Graphic by Dana Davenport, cillay / Getty Images
When do most women figure out they’repregnant?
Can women really not know they’r pregnant until after the 6-week mark?
Why are some womenable to tellright away, while others don’t realize until much later?
“I realized I was pregnant fairly earlyaround three and a half weeks in.
Sure enough, the pee stick confirmed it, and I promptly panicked.
“I realized I was pregnant very quickly for both kidsthree or four days before my approximateperiod.
“I knew immediately.
I was trying to get pregnant.
Then, I took a test on day 28.
I took a pregnancy test the next morning, and it came up positive.
But when I went to the doctor for confirmation, my test results were negative.
A few weeks passed, and I was convinced I had some kind of liver issue.
I headed back to the doctor, who reluctantly sent me to an ob/gyn.
There, I learned I was pregnantand 6-8 weeks along.”
On Sunday evening, I finally had a desire to eat something: soup andfruit.
And as soon as I recognized this, I knew I was pregnant.
I took a digital test, and it confirmed I was pregnant.
By my calculations, I was about five or six weeks along.
Immediately, I booked an appointment with my ob/gyn, who confirmed I was pregnant via an ultrasound.
By his calculations, I was 7-8 weeks pregnant.”
“I wasn’t worried the day my so-called ‘period’ came.
My 21st birthday came, and I decided to celebrate with drinks and other festivities.
And a little while later, I took cold medicine because I hadn’t been feeling very well.
But I noticed the sickness lingeredand turned into nausea at the mention of food.
Then, I started putting things together.
I took two pregnancy tests, and both came up positive.
There, I found out I was almost nine weeks along!
“I found out I was pregnant when I was almost 12 weeks along.
I was in a long distance relationship and was working a fast-paced job in Manhattan.
Eventually, I couldn’t shake this weird ‘feeling’ I had.
Something was just off to me.
So I decided to take my first-ever pregnancy testand voila.
Needless to say, I was shocked!”
Feeling motivated to act?
There are tons of ways to make your voice heard.
SELF’s resources onfinding activist opportunitiesandgetting involved in policy decisionsare great places to start.
Related:
Also:Ohio Governor Passes 20-Week Abortion Ban, Vetoes ‘Heartbeat Bill’ (from Newsy)
