Name: Michelle

Question: I was very relieved to know it rally dosent form till ten wks, my abortion was long sgo. i dont see how it can be invisible to the eye at 7 weeks and then be a pea at 8 wks.  i know this is a stupid worry. i have “ocd” and my brain latches on.  i will never know how pregnant i was ,because i had a short period before i missed my period.  the woman who performed my sonogram said I was about 8 wks. i didnt see anything.  this was way back in 1977.  are the sonograms they show now at 8 wks the real size.  somehow i have less guilt knowing i was earlier and it wasnt formed.

Dear Michelle,
There is much misinformation regarding the size of an embryo on the internet, mostly motivated by politics, not medicine.
At our offices, we offer to show women the tissue after ending an early pregnancy because it usually helps avoid the feelings you are still having.  I can tell you that when I look at the tissue that comes out with an early abortion I have never seen an embryo at 8 weeks of pregnancy.  At that stage the only tissue that is identifiable is a small gestational sac (about the size of a grape), which later becomes the amniotic sac.  It is a thin membrane that looks a bit like a small cotton ball.  On tissue exam, we see the beginnings of an embryo between 9 and 10 weeks of pregnancy.
I hope this is helpful to you,
Doctor Joan

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