Monday, September 28, 2015

Just Because You Saw Your Other Babies at Seven Weeks Does Not Mean That Will Happen Every Time!

Over the years, I've been contacted by a number of women who are scared they have a blighted ovum because at seven or eight weeks their gestational sacs look empty.  They assure me they have seen their babies by this time in the past and, for that reason, they have no hope.  Yet, a number of those women ended up finding their babies with a strong heartbeats. 

Today's misdiagnosed blighted ovum story was shared with us by Fathi (her post can be found here:  misdiagnosed blighted ovum at 8+weeks ).  Fathi shares that at just over eight weeks, her doctor did not see her baby and was pretty sure it was a blighted ovum.  Rather than wait one week for a follow-up ultrasound, Fathi waited two and, yes, she found her baby. 

Fathi was surprised for two reasons.  First, she had seen her other babies well before eight weeks and second, she doesn't have a tilted uterus.

I've learned over the years that a tilted uterus does not always stay in the same position.  It can change from pregnancy.  Just because you did not have a tilted uterus before does not mean you don't have one now.  And, we know that with a tilted uterus, babies are often seen a bit later.  For this reason, as I've blogged many times e.g. Medical Researchers Are Warning that Viable Pregnancies ARE Being Misdiagnosed as Miscarriages, a blighted ovum should not be diagnosed before the gestational sac is more than 25mm.

And, yes, this is for women who have been told they do not have a tilted uterus as well.  As you can see from Fathi's story, even women with a non-tilted uterus sometimes have to wait to see their babies.

Don't expect to see your babies at the same time during each pregnancy.  Instead, focus on the size of the sac.  If it is growing and not yet over 25mm, you still have hope.  Usually this happens at about nine weeks or so.  

Thanks for reading!

33 comments:

  1. I promised myself I would come back and post my experience no matter the outcome. I am 2 weeks into what finally ended into a miscarriage after days of uncertain u/s, fluctuating hcg, very painful cramps, bleeding and the end naturally passing the fetal tissue. Through the pain, I wanted to take a chance and thank you and all the women who shared their experiences, you all gave me such hope and courage. I asked all the questions and even had a second opinion and I am glad I did this because I feel like I am having closure sooner that I did with my 1st m/c that was a missed miscarriage when I didn't have too much information of what was going on. I know God will help me through this and heal my broken heart and I sincerely thank you for being part of my painful journey for inspiring me to be strong, keep up the good work!

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    1. I am so very sorry. Thank you for taking a moment to share your own story. ((((hugs)))) and praying for you.

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  2. Just a few days ago (5) I started lightly spotting... Very lightly! My last menstrual cycle as at the beginning of August (sometime) don't remember. I went to the hospital 3 days ago. Done urine, 5 tubes of blood, ultrasound... Could not see ultrasound. Waited 2 hours in waiting room on results. Got called back to waiting room and was told "miscarriage, there was no heartbeat, here are your discharge papers have a good night." I was not told anything else... Just no heartbeat. Okay so today I've completely stopped spotting. I never bled red only dark dark brown and it was barely noticeable. I feel as if I should get a second opinion.

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  3. Sounds like this was diagnosed too early which happens quite a bit in the ER. You need a second opinion. If the gestational sac is growing and not yet over 25mm, this is too soon to diagnose. Please, keep us updated.

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  4. Hello Kay , I wonder if you can help, on Monday I had a scan done at 8 weeks but they found no fetal pole and my MSD is 17.6 mm , they say I'm measuring 6 weeks pregnant , and am told my pregnancy is of uncertain viability as maybe I got my dates wrong , but I know I haven't got my dates wrong as I took a positive pregnancy test at 12 dpo and then had betas done 14 dpo 17dpo 20dpo all progressing nicely at the time! Now I have to wait two weeks before they do another scan to conform what's happening , I have had some brown spotting but it's stopped now and I'm still feeling really sick in the mornings , I feel like I'm just waiting to misscarry , mean while trying to find some comfort on the Internet , and I found this sight , I too have a tilted back ultras so I have booked a second scan privetly for tomorrow Thursday , so that's only 3 days after the first one but its for a second opinion , do you think it's worth it and what are the chances that everything will be ok ?

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    1. So many women look one to two weeks ahead. It's the equipment and not you (really, it is). The most important thing is to watch from week to week and see if the gestational sac is growing. If it is and it is not yet over 25mm, you are too soon to diagnose. Keep those ultrasounds spaced out by a week each. You want to give everything time enough to grow if the pregnancy is viable and with studies showing that ultrasound measurements can be off by up to 4mm each way, you need that extra time to ensure that growth is seen. Please, keep us updated.

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  5. But I'm 8 weeks but I look 6 weeks they said , so I'm looking behind not ahead am I not ? Is a MSD of 17.6mm looking more than 8 weeks ? I don't understand

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  6. I have a VER SIMILAR STORY! !!!! Hi, I am sharing my current story in hopes of some kind of reassurance.

    I went to my first transvaginal scan at 8 weeks. It took the doctor 10 secs to tell me I had a blighted ovum. No blood taken, no questions asked, nothing. She immediately prescribed me some pills to take and have an abortion. After that, she took a blood sample. The next day I called to get my blood results, in which the first thing she asked when I called was if I had taken the pills she prescribed. I told her NO. And I'm calling to get my blood results as I want a second opinion. She gave me my results.. my hcg levels were 73,000, that's it. No other results. I called a different doctor, and scheduled an appointment 4 days later. This new doctor is the sweetest doctor! She performed another transvaginal scan which showed my gestational sac of 6 weeks, but empty. No fetal pole.. My hcg levels are 62,000 with a 13.1 progesterone and Gestational sac of 17.5 mm. According to my LDP I should be 9 weeks. She recomended another scan in a week. I have NOT bled or are cramping at all. But my pregnancy signs have been diminishing. My boobs don't hurt anymore and I haven't been that hungry. I blame it on the depression and stress I'm going through. I want to keep my hopes up, since I'm not bleeding...yet... any hope??

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  7. I have a VER SIMILAR STORY! !!!! Hi, I am sharing my current story in hopes of some kind of reassurance.

    I went to my first transvaginal scan at 8 weeks. It took the doctor 10 secs to tell me I had a blighted ovum. No blood taken, no questions asked, nothing. She immediately prescribed me some pills to take and have an abortion. After that, she took a blood sample. The next day I called to get my blood results, in which the first thing she asked when I called was if I had taken the pills she prescribed. I told her NO. And I'm calling to get my blood results as I want a second opinion. She gave me my results.. my hcg levels were 73,000, that's it. No other results. I called a different doctor, and scheduled an appointment 4 days later. This new doctor is the sweetest doctor! She performed another transvaginal scan which showed my gestational sac of 6 weeks, but empty. No fetal pole.. My hcg levels are 62,000 with a 13.1 progesterone and Gestational sac of 17.5 mm. According to my LDP I should be 9 weeks. She recomended another scan in a week. I have NOT bled or are cramping at all. But my pregnancy signs have been diminishing. My boobs don't hurt anymore and I haven't been that hungry. I blame it on the depression and stress I'm going through. I want to keep my hopes up, since I'm not bleeding...yet... any hope??

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  8. I'm most likely going to have a miscarriage the dr said. 😢

    I had an ultrasound over 2 weeks ago Tuesday and measured at 5w2d but there was no heartbeat or fetal pole yet (I was 5w5d according to lmp). The ARNP assured me that there was a yolk sac and that everything was where it was supposed to be and that all was well--just too early.

    I ended up switching Drs (went back to my dr that delivered the girls) and had an ultrasound on Wednesday (should have been 7w6d based on lmp) and they couldn't find a heartbeat or fetal pole. I did bloodwork which I got back Friday and hcg was 22029.

    They retook my blood Friday and I should have those results on Monday. If they didn't double then it's pretty much a done deal my dr said. My dr compared ultrasounds and he said while the length doubled, baby didn't double (which is not normal) and regardless he should see a heartbeat and fetal pole so he's 90% sure I'm going to be having a miscarriage but again it's based on the hcg test before he can say for sure (he said he wouldn't be surprised if hcg came back 23000 to correlate with the ultrasound).

    I go back Friday for another ultrasound and to see him again...😢 I've had no spotting or abnormal cramping and I still have all of the pregnancy symptoms so far.

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  9. Your levels really shouldn't be doubling at this point so taking an hCG test is a bit pointless. They can go up, down or plateau and be normal. The most important thing is to see the gestational sac growing from week to week. If it is not more than 25mm and has grown, it is too soon to diagnose. (((hugs)))

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    2. Thank you...I do not believe it was 25mm but they didn't really give me much for measurements. I was told CRL is 15.1 but maybe I wrote it down wrong? Maybe it is 1.51? Or maybe the assistant told me wrong--IDK.

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  10. Hi,

    This is my first time on this website. I am about 7.5 wks pregnant and had my first ultrasound yesterday due to brownish discharge. I am high risk since I am 40 yrs old and had 2 prior miscarriages, the 2nd was just a year ago. The tech said the gestational sac measures 7 wks but there was no yolk sac or fetal pole. I went into the ultrasound with high anxiety since it was exactly a yr ago that I was told at 9 wks that there was no heart beat. I just don't believe this is true. Sometimes you just have a intuition that everything is ok with the pregnancy even though I was worried. I am getting a second ultrasound in 6 days and I am getting a second opinion. I am not going to give up that easily. I'm praying that everything will turn well.

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  11. If the gestational sac is growing and not yet more than 25mm, this is too soon to diagnose. (((hugs)))

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    1. Hi Kay

      So I went for my followup ultrasound today at about 8.5 wks. They still didn't see the baby or a yolk sac nor the fetal pole. But the gestational is still growing. I still have hope and believe since I have a known retroverted uterus, that I should continue to wait. The waiting time is the part that is the worst. If the sac stopped growing, I may be more accepting of the idea of a blighted ovum. But I feel there is still a chance.

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    2. (((hugs))) Do you know the measurement of the gestational sac? If it is not yet over 25mm and there are no complications, waiting is a good idea.

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    3. Hi Kay,

      I just saw the final reading of last week's ultrasound when I was 7.5 wks. It says mean sac diameter is 2.55cm. So I don't have the final results of this week's ultrasound yet but since the sac grew to 8.3 wks, it must be bigger than 2.55cm. I've come to the realization that this pregnancy most likely will not be viable.

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  12. Hello everyone... my lmp was on 9/10/2015..my beta hcg on 16/11/2015 was 2585 and on 18/11/2015 was 4520.. I went for my first TVS on 2/12/2015... the doc saw a gest sac measuring 21.3 mm and a yolk sac measuring 7.3 mm... my doc told it's an embryonic pregnancy.. he adviced me to go for medical abortion.. my obstetrician told me to wait for 2 weeks and repeat TVS... I still have pregnancy symptoms... I'm so t
    errified... pls help...

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  13. Hello everyone... my lmp was on 9/10/2015..my beta hcg on 16/11/2015 was 2585 and on 18/11/2015 was 4520.. I went for my first TVS on 2/12/2015... the doc saw a gest sac measuring 21.3 mm and a yolk sac measuring 7.3 mm... my doc told it's an embryonic pregnancy.. he adviced me to go for medical abortion.. my obstetrician told me to wait for 2 weeks and repeat TVS... I still have pregnancy symptoms... I'm so t
    errified... pls help...

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    1. If there are no complications and the sac is growing, they should wait one week to check. If the sac is not yet more than 25mm, this is too early to diagnose. Stay monitored. (((hugs)))

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    2. Thank you Kay... I will update... I hope that my baby shows up in my next TVS... God is Great

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  14. Hello All

    I had my ultrasound done 2 weeks ago where they saw a baby but no heartbeat. Since it was about seven weeks from LMP i was asked to do bhcg with 48 hrs interval to check viability. Results were 197000 and 246000 which were too high. But as long as it was increasing there was no issue. However they have now dropped to 186000 with all other symptoms same.

    I had follow up ultrasound today where they saw GS size of 44mm i.e. 9w5d but still no heartbeat. GS was also irregular shape so they told me it is a miscarriage as at this time there should be heartbeat. There is a normal yolk sac and no free fluid in pelvis. I am 8w6d from LMP. I still have nausea and morning sickness. I dont know what is happening. I already had a miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy prior to that.

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  15. I had an ultrasound 3 weeks ago, baby measuring at 6 wks 2day, no heartbeat. Was told it's a miscarriage and was prescribed 4 pill to start the bleeding process but I refuse to take and wanted another ultrasound done the doctors refuse and are convincing me that the fetus is not viable and to get to terms with it. 22 days later still no cramps or spotting and pregnancy symptoms are way worst than when the ultrasound was done. Have another appointment at a different clinic on June 11th

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  16. I had an ultrasound 3 days ago & I'm sitting at 8 weeks but having complications.. on the ultrasound,it was an empty sac and no hearbeat but the dr said there was something on the side but couldnt see what it was . I have been bleeding and spotting for a month , my hcg levels are at 1200 ( it went up 200 in 2 days ) my breast are sensitive & I can still feel my baby fluttering in my tummy . Haso anyone else experience this ?

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  17. Here is my full story-- so similar!!! https://www.teamhealthymom.com/healthy-mom-blog/category/Misdiagnosed-Miscarriage

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  18. Hello, the first day of my last period was dec 24`2017. I was told i am 9weeks pregnant. I went in on 2/23/2018 to have my 1st ultra sound and they found a sac at 29mm and it was empty. They gave me options to abort. That was from the sono tech and the nurse. They called the doctor who was gone for delivery downstairs and she said lets wait till 2/26/2017 and recheck. Today i went back 3 days later and the sac has almost doubled in size at 44mm and i act, feel and look too pregnant. My blood was taken on Friday also 2/23/2017 and the results were back. My blood count is at 90,000 so hormones are high. I feel so pregnant. No cramping or bleeding. Doc has asked me to consider my options as this seems like its not a viable pregnancy. Im so sad and contacted my specialist to get a second opinion.. But please tell me what your opinion is about this. Thank you so much

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    1. I am just so sorry you are going through this. That is a lot of growth. If this is a blighted ovum, often a D&C is needed this far along. You can always ask for a final ultrasound before the surgery. Huge hug for you!

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  19. Hi my wife is 8w 4 days, we did US but they did not see the baby and her hcg level is 125189. What we have to do now ? Please help us.

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    1. If the gestational sac is more than 25mm, this may be a blighted ovum. If the sac is growing and not yet 25mm, another ultrasound might be needed. Hope you received better news.

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  20. Hello,
    I had an U/S done today, Dr says there was no cardiac activity 😔 however, on 12/21, my baby measured at 6weeks, we saw and heard a strong heartbeat. I forgot to mention that I was with a different Dr, that Dr was able to see and hear a heartbeat. Today I had an appointment with the Dr that delivered my daughter, as I decided to switch Drs. So this was the first ultrasound with her, the tech said she couldn't not see a heartbeat. Dr sent me for blood work and now I have to wait until Monday for a second US. I should also mention that the CRL was nearly double than what it was when we heard baby's heartbeat on 12/21. Anytime have a similar experience? Waiting until Monday is killing me 😔 I'm an emotional mess...

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  21. Hello,
    I had an U/S done today, Dr says there was no cardiac activity 😔 however, on 12/21, my baby measured at 6weeks, we saw and heard a strong heartbeat. I forgot to mention that I was with a different Dr, that Dr was able to see and hear a heartbeat. Today I had an appointment with the Dr that delivered my daughter, as I decided to switch Drs. So this was the first ultrasound with her, the tech said she couldn't not see a heartbeat. Dr sent me for blood work and now I have to wait until Monday for a second US. I should also mention that the CRL was nearly double than what it was when we heard baby's heartbeat on 12/21. Anytime have a similar experience? Waiting until Monday is killing me 😔 I'm an emotional mess...

    ReplyDelete