No fetal heartbeat detectable at 5 weeks 6 days ultrasound

[littlewadsworth]

I had my first ultrasound (with the vaginal wand) and they estimated me to be at 5 weeks 6 days. I did in vitro. They confirmed the presence of a gestational sac, yolk sac and fetal dipole, but could not detect a heartbeat. Is 6 weeks or less too soon to see this? They counted 6 weeks back from the first day of my lmp, but they thought I might be running a little small.  I am worried that something is wrong! I have my second ultrasound next Thursday, and have read that sometimes it takes up to 10 weeks to detect a heartbeat. Also, my acupuncturist recommended that I use a heating pad (on low heat) on my abdomen as a sort of "incubator". Now I am worried about the electromagnetic waves being harmful. Please advise! This is my first pregnancy, and after what we went through with IVF (a blessing, but very draining), I am about exhausted with worry! I don't want to be a basket case by the time my next ultrasound comes around!  Any advice you can give would be great! THANK YOU!

[BestNanny2]

Hi littlewadsworth, I know what you are going through, its not a nice feeling at all, I was 3 and a half months with my 3rd pregnancy when I miscarried, I had a ultrasound and all they could see what the sac but there was nothing in there, I to had a blighted ovum, I was a mess, even though I had 2 little girls at home, no one knows how it feels to miscarry a baby, whether its a blighted ovum or not, my Aunty told me I had a fake pregnancy, I was so upset about that comment from her, I went to my doctor whom told me that it wasn't a fake pregnancy at all, actually there was a baby in there but if the baby dies before 12 weeks they normally dissolve, thats why you can't see it when they do the ultrasound... I have had 2 boys since then and I had another miscarriage, then I had my daughter whom is now 2, my other children are 19 whom she has made me a grandmother twice with 2 beautiful granddaughters, I have a 17 year old daughter and 2 sons, 13 and 12, then my baby whom just turned 2 last month, I had another micarriage a few months ago and I just found out I am pregnant again, my doctor is doing regular blood tests to make sure my HCG levels are rising which they are, but when I had my ultrasound they said they couldn't see anything in there, only that my uterus had a very thick lining which means there is either a pregnancy starting in there or I am going to get a heavy period, but with my HCG levels rising fast, means everything is going good and my baby is growing in there, I am due to have my second ultrasound this wednesday coming, I am not looking forward to drinking the water but am looking forward to seeing it on the scream, which they should be able to see it now, I should be over 6 weeks now they said, I will let you know how it all goes.... I wish you all the luck in the world littlewadsworth and pray you have a little bundle in your arms in the new year, take care and god bless xx

[sweetycandie]

hi..i had my transvaginal utz yesterday..and heard my bsby's heartbeat..the dr showed me some tracing of it..the utz said i was 6wks 5 days pregnant..but my lmp.was june 2 ..and had unsafe sex at june 20..pregnancy test.showed positive at july 8.....isnt the heartbeats too early??

[kahmann]

Update on my first post:

We went back for the 2nd ultrasound and our worst fears were confirmed. Still no heartbeat and the fetus hadn't grown at all. My wife was given a prescription for Cytotec, which she took last weekend. It's been a very difficult week for her obviously. I hope that those looking here for help find better results on their 2nd ultrasounds than we did. Good luck.

[40andpreggo]

I am 40 years old and went in for my second u/s today. My periods have been less than normal since I hit this age, but I was convinced I was fertile myrtle. I calculated my ovualtion from lmp and my husband and I tested the theory as we wanted to get pregnant. What I found was that I knew 6 days before my period that I was pregnant.  Technically I thought I conceived on Jan 23. Here in lies the dilemma.  The docs office first scheduled me to come in on what we thought would be 7w. They called and asked if I wanted to come in a week early. I jumped thinking I could see the baby.  Well--all they saw was the gestational sac that measured that I was only 5w6d+/-7days. That was just awesome because now i was worried.  We scheduled a second u/s for one week later (today).  He did not measure the GS but we saw a heartbeat. AGAIN-- the baby measured 4.3mm and had a hb of 77bpm.  Now there is the added stress and worry  that this is a low heart rate. I honestly want to go back and have them do an u/s each day to see if the baby is progressing now because I am seriously worried. He did bloodwork last week as well and everything was normal except my red blood cell count was high. Basically-- can anyone set my mind at easy?  The pros- things have progressed, there is now a baby and a hb.  Cons- low hb, high red blood cells, gestational age does not match conception. I know it's God's will either way, but I feel like it took me a really long time to prepare myself to open up to the possibility of having a baby at my age (I am blessed with a 14y boy) as I thought I was done.  Then I embraced it, feeling invincible and blessed only to keep feeling like the odds are not in my favor. Help--dumber the older I get

[Loopylis1980]

I am pregnant with my 2nd child, and have had quite a journey already. Going by my LMP I am 9 weeks, however, going by my dates I am 5 weeks. Not knowing this, I had a slight bleed 3 weeks ago, and was sent for a scan. I had a transvaginal scan, and only a gestational sac was showing, my HGC levels were over 15000 so I was told to go for another scan in 7 days, the next scan showed an empty sac still, but it had grown, so again was asked to return in 7 days. Today I went for another scan, and this time they saw a yolk sac and a fetal pole but no heartbeat. I was advised that this may be due to it being to early, but they can not guarentee that this pregnancy will continue. I was also told that I have a tilted uterus, which can make scans difficult to see. I have been asked to go back in 9 days for another scan and hope that a heartbeat will be detected. I have kept hopeful due to reading alot of posts on forums like this one, and hop I will have a definate answer next week. Fingers crossed, and good luck to all those experiencing the same situation.

[kahmann]

My wife had her first ultrasound today. We're certain that it's been 5 weeks and 3 days from conception. The doctor spotted the fetus but couldn't detect a heartbeat. Just as others have experienced, we were told that this was most certainly an 'abnormal pregnancy' and that she needs to consider a D/C or pills. We decided to have a 2nd ultrasound scheduled 8 days from today with a different doctor, just to be certain. The fetal pole measured 4.4cm - anything over 5cm and no heartbeat will be ruled a miscarriage, according to the AMA. This is our primary source of hope, that the fetus is just too small for a detectable heartbeat. I'll post an update when I have one.

This is what the AMA says about where my wife is with her pregnancy right now. It's obviously not great news, but there's nothing we can do but hold out hope for a heartbeat next week.

"Week 7 - Gestational Age (Fetal Age 5 weeks)
Generally from 6 ½ -7 weeks is the time when a heartbeat can be detected and viability can be assessed. A normal heartbeat at 6-7 weeks would be 90-110 beats per minute. The presence of an embryonic heartbeat is an assuring sign of the health of the pregnancy. Once a heartbeat is detected, the chance of the pregnancy continuing ranges from 70-90% dependent on what type of ultrasound is used. If the embryo is less than 5mm CRL, it is possible for it to be healthy without showing a heartbeat, though a follow up scan in 5-7 days should show cardiac activity.

If your doctor is concerned about miscarriage, blighted ovum, or ectopic pregnancy, the gestational sac and fetal pole (if visible) will be measured to determine what type of development should be seen. The guideline is that if the gestational sac measures >16-18mm with no fetal pole or the fetal pole measures 5mm with no heartbeat (by vaginal ultrasound), then a diagnosis of miscarriage or blighted ovum is made. If the fetal pole is too small to take an accurate measurement, then a repeat scan should be done in 3-5 days. If there is absence of a fetal pole, then further testing should be done to rule out the possibility of an ectopic pregnancy."

http://www.*****************.org/pregnancycomplications/earlyfetaldevelopment.htm