when should the fetal pole be evident?

[kittymommy]

I am hoping someone can offer some clarification.  I received bad news today at my 1st u/s.  I am 7 weeks 2 days since LMP, and the Dr saw a gestational sac but no fetal pole or heart beat.  He is certain that the fetus never developed, and that a miscarriage is imminent.  I asked that another doctor review the u/s findings just to be sure, and she agreed with the diagnosis.  I guess my question is does anyone know at what gestational age the fetal pole should be apparent?  I can't really find anything on the internet that specifically addresses this.  Everything I have read says that the heartbeats may not be detectable until 8 weeks, but I can't find anything concrete on the fetal pole development.  As many of you can completely understand from your own experiences, I am devastated by this news and am just trying to be absolutely 200% certain that there is NO BABY before I make my decision about the D&C.  I had a miscarriage in July 04 and it completed itself naturally, but it took 6 painful weeks to do so.  I am considering the D&C this time to bring some closure and to move on with my life.  What a crappy thing to have happen especially right before the holidays.  I am thankful that I found this website, it has been a source of great comfort and clarification to me during the last several months.  Thanks for any info you may have to share.

[carolyn55806]

I am so sorry for what you are going through. I did have a pregnancy where the fetal pole was not evident at 6.5 weeks and then later a heartbeat was found....I don't know how common that is. My sister had an instance of there being no heartbeat or anything and she was 9 weeks along....she didn't do the D & C and now has a healthy baby girl. Of course, this may not apply to you. Some docs say that you should be able to see the heartbeat/fetal pole by six or 7 weeks but there are always miracle cases. There is a site that you can search for called the Misdiagnosed Miscarriage. Look it up. Anyway, bottom line is that even if this pregnancy is NOT viable, the chances of it taking another 6 weeks to correct itself and miscarry would be unlikely (very unusual!) and you should absolutely make sure that there is no chance that the baby is there and alive before going through with the procedure. Have them take your HCG levels b/c if they are lowering, that is pretty conclusive...but if they are still rising then you should wait another week and have another ultrasound and so forth. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Debra_Maine]

I am so sorry to hear this. I do know how devastating it is. I had my m/c in July too. It sounds like a blighted ovum to me, but I'm no doctor. Here is a site you may get some info on. http://www.geocities.com/tweety1137/blightedovum.html   And again, I am so very sorry.
Debra

[Christina S.]

I have had this happen to me 3 times. And this site has helped me. I just found it a week ago, but I like reading it.
I feel like when I had my d&c's I did something wrong to soon. Wait it out.........


Copy & paste the site...

http://home.earthlink.net/~misdiagnosed/

[lovinmom]

Yes.  You are still so very early.  Be sure to go to http://home.earthlink.net/~misdiagnosed/  
and read the cases of women who were told that their babies had no fetal pole or heartbeat and then had their babies.  Doctors are often too quick to doom a pregnancy.  Besides that D&C's are so hard on the body.  I have friends who waited things out naturally and were able to conceive right afterwards.  I wish you the best.  Keep us posted either here or on the site above how things go.


Carolyn,

Could you and your sister write your story at the site above, how you eventually saw your baby.  We are trying to get women to document their cases.  We have doctors who will be looking at the site.  The more cases documented, the more proof that misdiagnosis happens.  The more proof and women alerted, the more babies saved.  Also, more mothers spared heartache.  Please spread the word to other ladies about the site and to document their cases.  Thank you so much!

[kittymommy]

Thank you all so much for all the kind words and for sharing your similar experiences.  I will check out the sites you've given, although I am so hesitent to get my hopes up.  In my research last night, I did come across one woman who had a very similar experience, and it was discovered that her first u/s tech was newer and did not properly or completely do the scan in the first place.  I am now wondering....for those of you who had early vaginal ultra sounds....about how long did the procedure take?  When I had one in July for my m/c, the tech seemed to me to be very thorough.  The procedure took about 20 minutes, and she had me turn to either side to get some good views that way in addition to lying on my back, and I could feel her moving the wand every which way inside there to get several different views.  This time, the whole process took literally 5 minutes, and she barely moved it just side to side.  She did not ask me to flip onto either side, or do anything that would make me think she got all possible views.  My appt was at 11:30 am, I was fully dressed and sitting back in the waiting room waiting for the Dr at 11:37.  Does anyone have any related experience with an early u/s?

[missd105]

I know what you're going through. I had a transvaginal pelvic and a transabdominal ultrasound. They found a cyst, fibroids, and a yolk sac. No fetal pole or heart rate visible. Dr. said it could be an ectopic pregnancy. Have done 3 hCG tests and 2 pregnancy test, all negative. Dr is now referring me to an OB-GYN for further testing. I hope everything works out for you.

[snagglepuss1]

hi

i had not exactly the same but a similar bad first ultrasound with this my fourth pregnancy, i was sent for an early scan at what i believed to be my seventh week of pregnancy, i was sent for the early scan after previously losing 3 babies. the sonographer seemed happy with the scan and the fact that my periods were not "normal" as in every 28 days, mine are roughly every 30 days, everything she expected to see was there. a sac and a yolk sac, but only minutes later my dh and i were taken into a counselling room and told we most likely had blighted ovum, which we had already experienced with our second failed pregnancy, totally shocked we left the hospital and were told to go for a re-scan a weeks later so that if it was blighted ovum, we could "get it over with"
we waited and it seemed like the longest week of our lives, at the re-scan we had the exact same lady who scanned us the week previous, only seconds passed as she started to scan, but it felt like forever waiting at which point she turned the screen to us and said "theres your baby, theres its heartbeat" at that point i believed myself to be almost 8 weeks pregnant, but the scan put me at only 6 weeks 5 days, how long your periods are and when you ovulate affect things. i am currently 29 weeks pregnant now with a very healthy and active baby.. so please don't give up, i think some doctors are too quick to scan and then write off a perfectly successful pregnancy!

claire

[wanttobemom74]

Hello everyone,

Technically I have completed 7 weeks of pregnancy on Dec 2nd 2004. Today I had my first ultra sound and was given the devastating news that there is no featal pole. Listening to the advice of other members i think i will wait for another 2 weeks for the next ultrasound to confirm if there is a heart beat.

I am still hoping that i am pregnant and going to have a baby. I had my last period on october 9th 2004 and i and my husband had unprotected sex on october 31st. So i think i had very late ovulation and so it is possible that the doctor is not seeing what he expects in the ultra sound.

by the way, i am having pretty bad nausea, body pains and tiredness associated with the first trimester of pregnancy and so i am wondering how can they cannot see the featal pole??

Any advice and encouragement would help me cope with my situation.

[Leanneo]

Hi there,

Just wondered if anyone could help us. My wife and I have just been for our second scan at 7wks 1day. Our first scan (due to slight bleeding) was at 5wks 2days all seemed well, uterus and yolk sack were normal but no sign of a fetal pole, told not to worry as it is early days.  As mentioned we had the second scan today and the uterus has doubled in size and the yolk sack was still present with a very small fetal pole of 2.4mm. We have been told that this does not look normal as they would expect to see some sign of a baby plus no heartbeat has been detected. We have been given the impression that the pregnancy is not viable and we are due to have another scan in 7 days, after which if a heart beat is still not detected the nurse has said we will have a "little chat"....

Measurements have been thrown at us as in that the fetal pole should be bigger in relation to the uterus,does anyone know if this is definately the case? We are v.worried that if still a heartbeat is not picked up on next week that those dreaded words d&c will be mentioned, when if you read others storeys of similar worries on the web, many say to wait and if it's not meant to be things will happen naturally.

What are two very upset and worried parents supposed to do??
Any views are most welcome!

Many thanks...Chris & Leanne.

[NIKKI NIKKI]

Hello,
I have been looking for info all over the net on no fetal pole but a gestational sac seen in u/s at 5 weeks. My doc wants me to wait 4 more weeks to do another sonogram, but I can't wait that long. It will drive me crazy. I am doing one this coming Monday, but in the meantime, I have all day morning sickness and have just started throwing up as I did with my last pregnancy. I had a normal pregnancy with my 18 month old daughter with the same type of morning sickness, so I am hoping this leaves me hope. Has anyone else been diagnosed with no fetal pole but also morning sickness that is not going away?
I would appreciate any feedback.

[kaylee1985]

i have just been today for my 2nd scan as i am diabetic have to go every 2 weeks last time the sack was only 8mm this time it is 20 mm and possible sighting of yolk so they think i am only 6 weeks and to go back in 2 weeks is this how it is ? she said the baby will be next to yolk but not yet visible on scan ? any 1 experienced anything similar please let me know thank you

[SWEETNILLA]

I AM IN THE SAME SITUATION I AM SUPPOSEDLY ABOUT 4-5 WEEKS PREGNANT WITH MY SECOND.  FIRST PREGNANCY ENDED IN MISCARRIAGE.  WE WENT TO THE ER BC I WAS HAVING REALLY BAD BACK PAINS AND THEY DID AN ULTRASOUND AND THEY FOUND A GESTATIONAL SAC AND YOLK SAC BUT NO FETAL POLE, ACCORDING TO MY LMP I SHOULD BE ABOUT 7.5 WEEKS PREGNANT BUT I AM NOT REGULAR I AM 40-45 DAYS IN BETWEEN PERIODS SO THE U/S SHOWN THAT I WAS ONLY BETWEEN 4-5 WEEKS PREGNANT.  I GO FOR ANOTHER U/S TODAY AND I AM HOPING THAT THEY SEE MORE BUT SEEING AS IT HAS ONLY BEEN 4 DAYS SINCE THE LAST ONE I AM VERY NERVOUS.  PLEASE HELP ME OUT.  MY HCG LEVELS ARE CONTINUING TO RISE.  WHEN I FOUND OUT I WAS PREGNANT ON 3/7/08 THEY WERE 290, ON THE 3/10/08 THEY WERE 1372 AND ON THE 3/13/08 THEY WERE 3790, SO THEY ARE CONTINUING TO GO UP.  I HAVE A LOT OF FAITH IN GOD AND I KNOW THAT I AM GOING TO HAVE THIS BABY.  EVERYONE KEEP YOUR HEAD UP AND JUST PRAY. GOOD LUCK.

[hope61]

I know the this comments were posted a few years back, but trying to get my self together I started searching for explanations, advice, possible miss ruling of my pregnancy. I am at my 7 week of pregnancy gestational age (lmp) which is only 5 weeks after conception.  I had to go to emergency room for abdominal pain and thats where my nightmare began.  No heartbeat was detected. Doctor said okay is to early.  I followed up with midwife week later, still no heart beat, and what she said no fetal pole.  I am entering the 8th week and had 4 vaginal ultrasounds. Doctor said no fetal pole, no heart beat, therefore no baby (as cruel as it sounds) I still had hope. I mean I have all the syntoms, crabings and soreness in breast, I feel pregnant!  My hcg counts are only going up by the 2000, which they say should be doubleling. He gave me the option of waiting for a natural misscarriage, medicine or that D C they call. I decided to wait, but am thinking of just doing the medicine,  but with all of this reading that I am doing, now I am more confused, should I hold on to my hope. I argued with the midwife of the fact that is to early to hear a heartbeat or see a fetal pole and I all I did was get her upset.
please help in giving me peace of mind. somebody please.  

[Charlotterose]

I would first find a new midwife, she shouldn't be getting upset.. all i can tell you honestly is to follow your heart.. I would wait.. because you never know, doctors can be wrong.. and if you do away with it yourself, you'll always wonder in the back of your head.. "what if" and those are the most punishing word ever.. so i would relax and let God take over.. It will be okay.. I will pray for you and your baby..

[angie776]

hi; im so worry i took a preg test on jan 26 was positive went for vaginal ultz to rule out ectopic cause i had on in 1997  they only seen  a sac on jan 30 and had a hcg and it was 1838 then had another on feb 02 and it was6492 and another hcg on fen 5 was14925 had a ultz done on feb 6 just seen sac bigger only no pole i been have browish dischagr only when i wipe i have appt for utz on feb 10 . could somebody give me advice please im so sad....

[caringmum]

I have read so many postings about no fetal pole etc...as my daughter had a scan and was told it was to early to detect a fetal pole.
This has got me really worried as I had decided to read up on the internet about what it meant. I wish I hadnt. It has just made me worry even more. I do wonder if all this technology takes over normal progress.

I have had 5 children, and at that time scans were not on offer. I have never heard the expression no fetal pole...I just had ante-natal check ups and so long as I did not show any signs of losing blood all was expected to be well. I would never have known if there was no fetal pole in the early stages as that facility was not on offer.

I have no idea what advice to offer my daughter, but certainly would not want her to read all the info on the sites that I have seen. I believe it gives too much cause for worry. It sounds to me that no fetal pole seems to be totally common as the amount of postings I have read prove that. The number is amazingly high, and yet I never ever heard of it whilst I was pregnant years ago.

I have decided not to worry my daugther and let nature take its course. She has another scan in 10 days, as her first one was apparently when she was 6 weeks. I personally would rather she didnt have this scan until she was at least 13 weeks, unless she showed signs of a miscarriage by losing blood. This was the only evident way of showing signs of a miscarriage when I had children.

I dont think I will continue to read anymore postings as it all sounds negative. It is heartbreaking to lose a baby that you want so dearly, and hope that all who have been given their info on no fetal pole do go on to have a successful full term pregnancy; Good luck everyone and I hope and pray that my own daughters pregnancy continues to be successful.

[CH168]

My doctor sent me for an ultrasound (abdominal and transvaginal) at 6w1d.  Hcg level that day was over 40,000.  The only thing seen was a gestational sac measuring 6w4d.  No fetal pole and no yolk sac.  The doctor said they should be able to see much more at that high hcg level and that I may go on to miscarry.  I had another ultrasound yesterday at 7w2d and everything was fine (abdominal ultrasound only).  Everything was visualized and we heard the heartbeat at 135 bpm.  I am actually upset with the doctor for putting me and my husband through one of the hardest weeks of our lives.  To me, although some women can see everything at this time, it is just too early for others.  The sort of impact these very early ultrasounds have on people should be respected by the medical community.  

[candid1984]

Today I had my first u.s. they said all they saw was a sac and the fetal pole but they could nit see a fetus/ She kept asking me if i bled at anytime i told her none at all just mild cramps but none continuous shes asking for another hcg leve test i pray all goes well and thank you all for the info you have posted. I am 24 and my first baby no miscarriages yet i am barely 7 weeks and i want this baby so bad that to think  i wont have it thi\e end of this year hurts

[Sorrow9599]

This is my first pregnancy with my current husband. I have 6 other children, most grown, with my ex. I never had early hcg testing or sonongrams with any of them. Of course, all was fine. This time, because of my age I assume, I have gone through hell. I had a sonogram at 4 weeks 2 days. The doctors were worried of an etopic, which I have never had, due to the corpus leutem (sp?) being large. They did an hcg count, then another one on sat, 2 days later. That doctor called me Saturday after noon and point blank told me I had an etopic or a miscairage as my numbers didn't completely double. I was devestated.  After doing research, I dicovered that I had gone up atleast 70% in less than a complete 48 hour period and that was totally normal.  So I went to my regular doctor that Monday.  He took blood for an hcg and did a sonogram. He too became concerned the cyst was an etopic and sent me for a high tech sonogram down stairs. That doctor told me point  blank, he didn't feel it was etopic. They didnk't see a sac or yolk sac at that point. The next morning my regular doctor callled and told me my numbers doubled, not to worry. I had another sonogram last friday, 4 days from previous and 5 wks 3 days. They saw a sac and yolk sac.  That was a different doctor and he told me I was earlier pregnant then what I thought because they didn't see a fetal pole. I of course did research and found that not seeing a fetal pole is normal at 5 wks and doesn't mean I am earlier.  To me, I would like to know how a pregnancy test came out positive four days before my period if I were a week off.  Silly doctors. Anyway, that same day I got the results of the following hcg count and they more then doubled. So, there is no reason for concern.  But, due to this hcg counting and early sonograms and uneducated doctors who have no concern for giving wrong information, I went through hell.  So terrible.  Like I said, this is my first time dealing with all this early stuff and I will never, NEVER, do it again or allow it again unless I personally have a good reason to worry myself. (Hoping my hubby will be happy with just one). Listen to your heart, do research, and don't do anything the doctor suggests untill you are 100% sure yourself,,,,and,,,pray and do research. Much love wishes and blessings.

[penmethsa]

Hi iam 24 yrs and ihad 7weeks pregnancy and i went for u/s and the doctor told there was a yolk sac but no fetal pole and no heart beat doctor told told me to repeat scan afetr 2 weeks iam really worried whether i will get  a misscarriage in this stage

please help me out im so worried about this

[strongmomma]

Hey there i just had my 3rd sonogram in the last 6 days went wed 8/12 first dr told me my uterus looked "funky" then pointed out to my husband and I what appeared to her two gestional sac told us to come back in 48hrs to see if my hcg levels will triple well of course we are excited shocked and have our hearts set on two come back fri 8/14 see another dr which i was fine with since the first was having hard time with my "funky" uterus. He was more informative but still seemed unassured as well preformed the 2nd sonogram to find out what the first dr saw was cysts not even the gestional sac she was looking at well then he points the real gestional sac which was measured to be at 5wks and 5days at that time and it ws empty nothing.  So he has me come back mon 8/17 now exactly 6wks and this sonogram showed yolk sac but no fetal pole so of course they want me to com back AGAIN the next followig Mon 8/24 so they can see if they can hear heartbeat ....This is my second pregnancy my first was 5yrs ago went undetected till I was 3months pregnant entering my 2nd trimester and I had never had this much issues not knowing till I was almost 4months pregnant i feel was much more pleasant, relaxing and smoother. I sit here reading forums postings blogs from dozens of sites and from my own personal experiences and reading others I personally feel DRs rely on what medical science has taught them when things dont go as sch as the  med book says then for them its the only other alternative unvialable pregnancy. Im not saying drs dont know what they are doing but I do feel they dont let mother nature takes its course...we are all different therefore just bc one woman developes her fetal pole in 5wks of pregnancy i dont think should be compared to another who hasnt. To everyone with doubts and hearts that been shatter with crushing news like that DONT lose your hope DONT let one negative doubt take your spirit its that hope love faith and undoubting that will get you through these hard times keep planning on that nusery theme and baby names its our strenght in belief that we wont except a comparison . Stand strong for you baby

[penmethsa]

I had an us this monday and i had an u/s said iam 9 weeks 4 days they saw a fetal pole but no heartbeat they told me come back again with in a week to do the U/s again im really worried and this is my second preg  doctor told if they did'nt ditect heartbeat this week i have to go for a miss carriage

im really worried pleaes help me

[snagglepuss1]

My first 3 pregnancies were sadly lost, 1st was at 16 week, anencephalic baby, 2nd was diagnosed at 8 weeks as blighted ovum, d&c happened the next day, will never know for sure if it was or not. 3rd pregnancy was a complete miscarriage at home at 6 weeks. My 4th pregnancy i was scanned at about 6 weeks, sac was spotted but no fetal pole, because the sac measured 1mm more than they were expecting at that gestation, my pregnancy was written off as another blighted ovum. I was offered a d&c again but refused and agonised for another week before i was re-scanned. 1 week later my daughters heartbeat was seen within seconds of the scan being performed. now have 3 healthy children ages 4, almost 3 and 18 months. Hopfully pregnancy number 7 will have a happy ending like my last 3.

[Celine1975]

I went to the ER on Oct 5 2009, because of light spotting.  since I had a miscarige at 15 weeks, 4 years ago, I was scared.  It took me 4 years to get pregnant, I'm not loosing this one.  U/S was good, they saw the sac and mesured to be at 6w 1d (exactly where I said I was) and the heart rate was at 147 bpm (quite high...maybe it's because of all that sugar I had that morning), my HCG level was great too, 3000.  So the ER doctor asked to come back in 48 hrs for more blood test.  My HCG did not double, but went up, 4000 and found that I had a blood clot in my uterus (my chances right now are 50-60% I'll loose it).  Asked that I return in a week (Oct 13 2009) for another U/S.  It was good, the baby is now at 7w 2d, but my HCG is only at 6000 and the Heart Rate was only at 112bpm (they said anything over 100bpm is good...but why did it go down???).  Then I was sent home and no more follow-up... WHAT?  Are you crazy?  I'm going out of my mind here...  I found me another doctor and they are running test like crazy.  found that my progesterone level was way to low (26 instead of 40 or higher) so I'm on 400 mg of progesterone supplement, they also told me to take 5mg of Folic Acid (not one...but five pills per day, plus my normal multi-vitamine).  went for more blood test after 3 days of progesterone (Oct 17 2009) and it went up to 40 (and will probably keep going up), but my HCG is only at 7000.  I'm consern about my HCG as they are not going up fast enough, so the nurse, at this new doctors, said it might be because I was so low on progesterone, to not worry about that level anymore.  I'm going for another U/S Friday (Oct 23 2009) and pray the Lord that all is fine.  I sooo want this baby, it's not funny.  but all this to say, don't give up.  If you think your doctor is not doing everything you think he should, get a second opinion and also, get your progesterone level check...90% of the time, it's because you're to low that your body can't carry this pregnancy...  DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN for your own sake, for your peace of mine.
Celine

[kristinw09]

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