Most of the time women can see blood and tissue in their sanitary napkin or in the toilet. The (very small) embryo is usually passed within this blood and tissue in such as way that it goes unnoticed by the woman. However, it is possible that you might see the (very small) embryo. Depending on the length of the pregnancy, a small pregnancy sac with some tissue around it may be visible. For instance, if you are only five to six weeks pregnant, there will be no visible sac. At nine weeks, you might be able to find a sac in the blood and it is possible that you might see the embryo. With a pregnancy of 8 or 9 weeks, the embryo is about 2, 5 cm. This can be distressing.
It is best to flush everything down the toilet or to wrap the sanitary pads in a plastic bag and throw them away.
More scientific information:
At 6 or 7 weeks gestation, the embryo measures approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch to 13 millimeters, and at 9 weeks it measures about 1 inch millimeters. Frequently, the embryo expelled during a medical abortion is not explicitly visible because it is passed together with other pregnancy tissue and blood 17 .
Doctors in Scotland organized a study in which women did medical abortions at home. One of the researchers, Dr. Gillian Penney of Aberdeen University, stated, “I was very surprised by the level of acceptability to home abortion amongst women. I thought it would be frightening for women and they would want to be with the necessary staff who can give them support through the procedure and reassure them. But women who experienced it for real genuinely felt it was something they could cope with in the home. Many preferred their own choice of companions they could have in their own home, and being able to use their own toilet facilities 46 .
