What an Early Embryo Looks Like: Photos of Tissue Shows What Happens During the First 9 Weeks of Pregnancy

MYA Network recently posted photos of what a five to nine weeks pregnancy looks like, implying that an embryo has not yet formed. It comes at a time when abortion laws in the US are under the spotlight after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in June this year.

Abortion is now illegal in 14 US states and after Roe v Wade was overturned, protesters went to the streets condemning the decision. Many Americans now call for a referendum with concerns about protecting access to abortion as reproductive health.

What an Early Embryo Looks Like: Photos of Tissue Shows What Happens During the First 9 Weeks of Pregnancy Unsplash/ Volodymyr Hryshchenko

What Five to Nine Weeks Pregnancy Looks Like

Abortion rights commentator Jessica Valenti shared MYA Network's photos in TikTok to explain to her followers what a five to nine-week-old pregnancy looks like. However, it received some backlash from other people saying that it was fake and that it did not resemble their early sonogram. Although, some have also confirmed the images to be accurate.

@auntiekilljoy I’ll probably regret hopping back into this but the truth is too important to keep quiet about #feminism #abortion #fyp ♬ original sound - Jessica Valenti

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2019 found that 80% of abortions took place in the first five to nine weeks of pregnancy.

The images show what tissue looks like during the first five to nine weeks of pregnancy. They came from real patients whose pregnancies were removed in a clinical using manual vacuum aspiration. The tissues were rinsed to remove the blood and menstrual lining to be photographed.

Dr. Joan Fleischman, the co-founder of MYA Network, told Newsweek that manual vacuum aspiration is a very gentle way of removing pregnancy tissue from an early stage of unwanted pregnancy or miscarriage. It is a delicate procedure that keeps the tissue intact. At this point, the tissue called the gestational sac contains cells with the potential to become a fetus, but no embryo has yet formed.

MYA Network explained on its website that the so-called "heartbeat" at six weeks of pregnancy is just the electrical activity of cells as the heart has not yet formed. They also emphasized that they aim to spread accurate imagery about abortion to counter misinformation about pregnancy tissue in hopes that it will provide people with better resources to make informed decisions.

Monthly Stages of Growth in Pregnancy

According to Cleveland Clinic, the fertilized egg rapidly divides within 24 hours of conception and grows for nine months. There are typically 40 weeks during pregnancy, divided into three trimesters.

First trimester (1-12 weeks)- the first trimester spans three months or 12 weeks since conception. During this trimester, the fertilized egg changes from a small grouping of cells to an embryo.
Second Trimester (13-28 weeks)- The second trimester is often thought of as the best part of the experience as morning sickness is gone. But this time, the fetus starts to flip and turn in the uterus, and parents may know their baby's biological sex via ultrasound checks.
Third trimester (29-40 weeks)- The final part of pregnancy is when parents are tempted to start the countdown. Through the third trimester, the fetus gains weight quickly which will help them after birth.

There are cases when some women go past 40 weeks of pregnancy and have an additional two weeks. It is best to monitor these pregnancies closely as they approach their due date.