12 week scan - worrying over nothing?

[HarrietM87]

Just looking for some reassurance - I’ve had 4 miscarriages and have been a bundle of nerves this pregnancy already after a massive bleed at 10 weeks.

I had my 12 week scan today. I had induced ovulation with a trigger shot so can be sure of my dates - I should be 12+6 today.

However, the baby was measuring 13+4, with an above average heart rate, a below average BPD and an NT measurement of 2.2mm (which I think is on the high end of normal). The sonographer couldn’t get measurements for ages - I had to jump up and down and walk around the room repeatedly. I’m wondering if there could have been a mistake and/or thinking the measurements must be skewed because the dates are just wrong.

The ridiculous thing is that I’ve already had the harmony test which came back low risk, so I thought I could finally relax. But now I’m worried that there might be another issue that it hasn’t picked up. We had been planning to tell family today but I feel sick with worry.

Definitely time to relax. Baby’s heart rate will increase when they’re moving, and because the sonographer took a while getting measurements I’m guessing you had a wriggly baby? A high heart rate is normal at this stage (provided it wasn’t 200bpm or something?!) and measuring larger for dates is very common. Babies are individuals and don’t read the manual on what they should be measuring at each gestation. That’s why later in pregnancy we rely on centiles to monitor their growth. That’s why there can be discrepancies in dating.

Measuring bigger is much more reassuring than if you were measuring a week behind and baby had a below average heart rate. The NT is one marker, your measurement was within normal, you’ve had bloods done which are much more accurate and they have come back low risk. Time to stop worrying.

Everything you’ve said absolutely indicates a very very healthy pregnancy. Try your best to let go of these worries now and enjoy telling your family.

Thanks for your kind comments. I wonder if I need to resign myself to the fact that I’m never going to be able to relax in this pregnancy and just need to step away from google.

The heart rate was 164pm which looks around 75th centile based on the chart (just a blob on a scale from left to right). The BPD looks about 30th centile. I hope I’m just worrying over nothing.

I’m sure I’ve seen discussion elsewhere that many trusts won’t tell you the foetal heart rate just because people worry. The sonographer at my early scan also said measuring a week earlier or later than you’re expected dates is completely normal and fine, measuring big just means they’re growing well - this is a good thing!

Hello, I had an IVF pregnancy and despite knowing the gestational age exactly, my early scans dated me a few days ahead. Try not to worry about things being above or below average, they are still in the normal range. I know it's really nerve wracking though when it's been difficult to get there.

A heart rate of 164bpm is perfect. Completely normal for the gestation and I suspect baby was also in an active mood!

It sounds as though you probably will worry no matter what, and with your history it’s understandable. I’m also prone to worrying and the only thing that helps is when I tell myself that worrying doesn’t change outcomes, it just makes for a miserable life and wasted brain energy. All you can do is give the best chances for your baby or child, and outside of that you really don’t have any control.

I would be thrilled with a scan and screening like yours. Please try and breathe easy

I may be wrong but the dates don’t just vary because of ovulation, it may have also been because you implanted early. There’s a range of a few days when implantation can happen so baby might measure bigger because of more growing time once implanted. I got a strong positive with dd2 at 9dpo and knew I was pregnant 2-3 days before because I felt the symptoms. They measured me 5 days ahead at her scan. This time I’m measuring 3 days ahead and the hr was only a few beats slower than yours. There was a scale on my letter and it looks like around 160 is the 50th centile. I will pm you the results so you can see.
A NT at that gestation is also going to be slightly bigger than average because it’s proportional to the size of the baby. Yours is perfectly normal. I know it’s impossible not to worry and you always will but your results are honestly fine.

I can’t seem to pm a picture of my results but here they are so you can see scales of normal. Yours are fine.

It would obviously help if I attached it!

I’m sure I’ve seen discussion elsewhere that many trusts won’t tell you the foetal heart rate just because people worry.

Yep, mine just said, 'Fetal heartbeat detected' on the print out. No heart rate given.

Thanks so much @ACatCalledLola. I’ve attached mine and the results look more extreme, but I guess a tiny difference must make a big difference on the centiles at this stage. I hope so much all is ok.

@HarrietM87 your results are still well within normal parameters. Just like adults, babies and children are different shapes and sizes and have different resting heart rates. They’re all just variations of normal.
Remember they’re so tiny and those results could also be a difference in a mm or two which is tricky to measure with an active baby. My scan was at the Fetal Medicine Research Centre at Kings so the scan was done first by a student and then an experienced sonographer took over. I listened to them going over some of the measurements and some were taken several times to show the student the variation at different angles. I also had a baby who didn’t stop moving which made it extra hard! It was really interesting to listen to and made me realise how easy it is to measure a tiny bit out.