Saturday, April 4, 2015

Another Misdiagnosed Blighted Ovum Because Of High hCG Levels and No Baby Seen

I really do believe high hCG levels with no baby seen is the most common reason for a viable pregnancy ends up misdiagnosed as a miscarriage. 

Today I'd like to share Korin's story.  You can find the original post here:

Korin's Story - Diagnosed Blighted ovum 5wks 6days - UPDATE!! MISDIAGNOSED!

At about six weeks, Korin had an ultrasound.  Because they saw an empty gestational sac, the midwife told her she believed it to be a blighted ovum and wanted to check her hCG levels.
A comment from me about this:  Most doctors will not check hCG levels once the gestational sac is seen.  Your numbers could be high or low and be normal.  They could rise, plateau or even fall and be normal.  All hCG levels do with a diagnosis of suspected blighted ovum is to worry Mom unnecessarily.

Korin's hCG levels came back in the 20,000s which is perfectly normal but the midwife diagnosed a blighted ovum because there was nothing seen in the sac.  Korin did not want a D&C and chose to wait. 

Two weeks later, Korin saw the heart of her little one beating away.

I know I blog about this topic a lot but hCG numbers should NOT play a role in a blighted ovum diagnosis.  I've talked to women who had numbers much higher who did not see their babies until later.  The diagnosis of a blighted ovum should be based on the size of the gestational sac if the sac is growing.  You'll want to see the sac grow to at least 25mm before a blighted ovum should even be suggested.

In fact, that reminds me of another recent story on the site.  Rachel shared how her doctor felt her hCG numbers were too low and with no baby seen yet, she needed a D&C. Thankfully Rachel's husband demanded another ultrasound two hours before the procedure and, you guessed it, they found their baby. You can read her story here:

Rachel's Story - My Ob/Gyn Almost Murdered My Son

This is why I strongly believe a blighted ovum should NOT be even suggested before the gestational sac reaches at least 25mm.  Had that doctor just said, "It's still too early, come back in a couple weeks,"  Rachel would not have been so upset.  In fact, with my first pregnancy, most doctors would have likely suggested a blighted ovum like they did with my second pregnancy.  When they couldn't see my baby, the just said that it was too early and to come back in a couple weeks.  I was probably between eight to nine weeks when they found him.  Because of how they approached it, I figured all was normal and didn't even worry about not seeing him. 

If your gestational sac is growing and still smaller than 25mm and there are no complications, take a deep breath.  This pregnancy is still too early to diagnose as a blighted ovum.  Everything may still be normal.  Hang in there and leave a message.  I'd love to hear from you.  (((Hugs)))