Blighted Ovum

[Audra]

Has anyone ever had one? What happened? I think this might be happening but not sure. Drs not much help so making my own diagnosis.

Yes I had one when I was having ds3 (his "twin" IYSWIM). I bstarted to bleed but it wasn't excessive bleeding and no pain. Everyone, me included, thought I was losing the baby, but I was liucky to have ds3 in there in addition to the blighted ovum.

About 10 days after the initial bleed, I suddenly lost loads of dark brown goo - really loads, absolutely horrible even though I had been warned it might happen.

What is happeneing to you? Why do you think you have this?

Bleeding from week 5 for 13 days. Have had two scans and a blood test - verdict from doctors was that I would miscarry. I haven't. Bleeding has just stopped. Would be happy but gestational sack is 1-2 weeks undersized and blood test showed that progesterone? very low - a bad sign. And no heartbeat by 7 weeks. I would love to hear that this has happened before and there is a chance I will have a healthy baby but I just know this one is not right. I thought nature would take care of itself but it doesn't seem to be.

Oh no it does not sound good, does it? I was lucky in that I had a scan the day after I started bleeding and they saw ds3's heartbeat right away. Next to him was the blighted ovum.

It is awful the way you are left in the lurch isn't it? The thing seems to be that they leave nature to tak its course, which of course it must, but I hated the waiting. I was even told I had a higher chance of losing ds3 too, but all they could do was send me away to wait.

Have they given you any signs to expect/wait for?

I have another scan on Thursday where they expect to find either a heartbeat, or it has come away, but it hasn't come away. I'm terrified the pregnancy is proceeding (and it isn't a blighted ovum, as no doctor has yet mentioned it) and there is something seriously wrong. The doctors fully expected the miscarriage to complete itself very soon after the last scan last thursday. Thanks for sharing your experience by the way, I should have said that before but I'm a little self absorbed right now.

I had one.
Bleeding at around 6 weeks, scan at 7 weeks, sac there, no baby.
Diagnosed blighted ovum.
They gave me the choice of a D&C or to let nature take its course.
I actually miscarried at 13 weeks.
I continued to have the symptoms of pregnancy because you do, but started with cramps/pain etc then passed the whole thing.
I knew it would come but not when it would come.
A very odd scenario all round IMHO.

Thank you for that info. That's not something to look forward to. I'd give anything to have a healthy baby in 9 months but that's not likely I don't think. How did you feel carrying it for 13 weeks? Did it grow much? At your 7 week scan, was it undersized compared to a normal pregnancy or normal size? Do you remember? When it was passed, you mentioned cramps and pain, was this like labour? or just a bad period?

Audra - I am so sorry you are having to go through this.

At my 7 week scan in July the consultant was concerned that the sac was measuring small, although there was a heartbeat present. A week later the sac had grown in size although was still not as large as it should be for that stage of pg and there was still a heartbeat. Two weeks later and again the sac has grown but there was no heartbeat. I opted for an ERPC immediatley as I couldn't face waiting for a m/c to happen naturally.

Our consultant did say that sometimes they can be slow starters and some do catch up but unfortunatley some do not and go on to m/c. Keep hoping that everything will be OK but be prepared for the worst.

I dont know if it grew, im presuming it did as the hormones of pregnancy are still abundant and until your body recognises it as an abnormal pregnancy you are still to all intents and purposes "pregnant".
I never had any more scans as that 1st scan was absoute and conclusive.
It was as you can imagine difficult carrying on until 13 weeks in that i still very much felt pregnant. However it was also a very healing time for me, allowing time to accept and come to terms.
Although i was told there was no baby there, i still consider that i lost a second baby. ( i had one m/c prior to this also).
The scan was undersized and showed a sac, that was all, no yolk which should have been present i was told, and no heart beat or baby.
At the time of the loss, i had pain that i can only describe as labour pain which lasted for 2 days and 2 nights until i finally passed it.
No pain killers touched it and i had been given strong ones by my GP in anticipation on diagnosis.
I felt it so very important to let nature take its course because that way it was absolutely meant to be IYSWIM.
I had no pressure from medical staff, i was given the choice, then left to it.

I was in teh same position last year. teh sac kept growing despite tehre not being anyhtign there. I opted for a ERPC just to get it all over with. Physaically I felt fine but it took a long time for my periods to get back to normal 7 for my hormones to calm down.

Audra, I had a blighted ovum with my first pg. Started bleeding at 11 weeks. Scan showed empty sac. Was booked in for ERPC 3 days later but started to have labour-type pains a few hours after the scan. These continued for about 12 hours after which I passed the sac. Very painful but I was quite glad that it happened naturally (as I knew it was inevitable and there was absolutely nothing that could have been done IYSWIM). If it did happen again though I would still opt to book in for an ERPC because it can take a long time for the body to miscarry naturally and I would personally find that very hard to bear.

Sorry you are going through this and I hope you get some answers tomorrow at least.

Hi Audra,

My first pregnancy ended with a blighted ovum 4 years ago and I am so sorry to hear you are going through this too.

I had some bleeding at 5 weeks and a scan which could not detect a heartbeat or much sign of an embryo. Everyone said "oh you're only five weeks we'll re-scan you in a weeks time".

One week later and no further blood loss but a re-scan again showed no heartbeat.

Two weeks later I was scanned again and had blood tests for pregnancy hormones. The blood test showed a massive result and then they suddenly started talking about a mole pregnancy which freaked me out no end.

At nine weeks a further scan showed no heartbeat and no embryo growth. The sonographer did say very positively though - "that's not a mole pregnancy".

I saw the doctor and had a medical termination which involved taking a misoprostal tablet and then returning two days later for a pessary. Two hours later and it was all over.

All very sad - someone described a blighted ovum as "an empty nursery" with all the ingredients present to nurture a baby but with no baby inside any longer.

If this is what has happened just remember it's still a miscarriage and you've still lost a baby. My DH (bless him) kept saying "well it wasn't a baby really was it - just an empty sac"(which is what the scan report said). He meant well but I could have slaughtered him at the time.

Looking for advice on blighted ovum. Started bleeding at 11 weeks, scanned at 12 weeks, large sac but no baby, told it was blighted ovum, appeared that the baby stopped developing around 4 weeks (does this mean 2 weeks after conception since pregnancy is measured from date of last period?). I now have to decide between letting nature take its course, pessaries to hurry nature along, or a D&C. Anyone have any advice?

I had one detected at just over 12 wks and opted for D&C really did not want to bleed it outI had started spotting lightly which led me to see GP and hospital.

it was done quickly and I recovered well, did not even spend the night in hospital.

for my next pregnancy I asked for an early scan as really did not want to go through weeks thinking I was pregnant for that outcome iyswim
and all was well

I am sorry you are going thorugh this it is quite upseting

jm54 - I am so sorry for your loss. I had a similar experience quite recently. I was told I had a missed m/c in September. I had started bleeding slightly and went for a scan to check it out. I should have been 11 weeks pg by that time but all the scan showed was an empty sac. The embryo had stopped developing at a very early stage and was not even visible - the doctors called it a blighted ovum. I decided to let nature take its course. I went home and 6 days later, the bleeding increased considerably and I had slight contractions. Sorry to be graphic, but there is quite a lot of tissue involved by that stage and its not a pleasant experience, so if you choose this route, I would advise making sure you are either at, or very near your home until it is all over.

My doctor says that blighted ova are extremely common and many pgs end this way. However, when your body doesn't expell the products straight away, I think it is possibly even more distressing because you go on believing the pg is progressing.

Having had one normal period following the m/c as my doctor advised, I am now pg again. I have to say, I am extremely nervous that the same thing will happen again (especially as I dont have any morning sickness) but I guess only time will tell.

Thanks for your messages sfxmum and HilaryG2, it really helps to know other people have gone through this. Still not sure what to do, adopting 'wait and see' approach for now. HilaryG2, can I ask how long the heavy bleeding lasted once it was underway? Great to hear that you both got pregnant again, hope all goes well there (HilaryG2, I never had any morning sickness with my first pregnancy, and all was fine, have magic wee boy to show for it!).

I had a blighted ovum in my first pregnancy - no bleeding, normal pg symptoms until I turned up for my nuchal scan at 13 weeks. I opted for an ERPC as I was advised that it could take some time to come away if it had hung on that long. Physically an ERPC is a lot easier than a 'natural' miscarriage (have had 2x ERPC, 1 x natural) - with the ERPC I had a few days of moderate bleeding, no pain. With the natural one it was around 10 days of quite heavy bleeding and really quite painful. And not to be too graphic, but expelling the tissue is not a pleasant experience as Hilary G2 says.
I'm really sorry for your loss. Someone said to me that a pg is about hopes and dreams, and you've lost those, even if your baby only grew for a couple of weeks.

Hi JM54, To answer your question about 2 weeks after conception. measurements are taken from 1st day of your last period. when they said to you that the baby had stopped developing at 4 wks , they would mean 4 wks from the 1st day of your period. as the average ovulation is 14 days into the cycle, they would have included these first 14 days.

so when some one is 8 wks pregnant, their baby is really 6wks in size. Does that make sense?
I too have gone through what u are going through.
scan at 5wks 5ds could not find a yolk sac , gestational sac empty , told to rescan in 2 wks. 7wks 5ds still no sign and sac17mm dia.

6th Nov scan at 8wks 5ds confirmed no baby ,sac now 22mm dia. all gynae teams consider from studies, that when sac diameter reaches 20mm , then there will not be a viable pregnancy.

ironically on the morning of the scan i started to experience cramping period like pain. I was offered to have pessaries to help speed up contractions or an ERPC the next day . i refused both as studies i have read indicate that there is a higher risk of infection having an ERPC(D&C) as opposed to waiting for it naturally , but to miscarry naturally has its down side too as their is more pain and bleeding.
It is difficult for me to advise as you are 12 wks and have not yet miscarried. although i have been told by nursing staff that it is safe to wait.

About an hour ago after 2 days of cramps and only dark brown discharge, an intact sac came out,i must say after my initial crying ,it was an amazing thing to see. sorry for being a bit techy but i am a nurse by profession.

Their are pros and cons to both but if you choose miscarry naturally , you must have access to 24hr medical help at local hosp, just in case it is too over whelming for u or u need more pain relief, you need support at a time like this . Hope this helps?

Thanks so much, cmotdibbler and loulou67, for sharing your experiences, and I'm really sorry to hear about what you've been through. I think I'll leave things for a few days and see where I am on Monday. But I guess the longer I leave things, the harder the natural path will be. But I have been bleeding, albeit lightly, for a week now, so maybe things will happen of their own accord soon. Thanks again to all, what a great thing discussion sites like this are, it really helps to hear from others who have been through, or are going through, this.

jm54 - thank you for the reassurance regarding the morning sickness. it is much appreciated.

With my miscarriage, I had very light bleeding on a Saturday afternoon, had a scan on the following Tuesday, which diagnosed the blighted ovum and then waited until the following Monday to miscarry.

The pain did not start until midday on the Monday. It quickly went from period-pain type cramp to actual contractions. The bleeding increased - my doctor had warned me that if I was replacing my heavy duty night time towel more than once every 20 minutes, I was to go to the hospital as I would be loosing too much blood. Whilst bleeding was heavy, it didnt reach this level. I was a bit sick, I guess with the shock, but by 5pm, the pain was virtually gone and the bleeding was much less.

I too passed the complete sac and I am afraid I also found it quite gorily interesting in a sick sort of way. I was very much comforted by knowing that the sac didn?t contain a foetus. I had probably reabsorbed the blighted ovum and there would have been no baby in the sac, therefore whilst it is very distressing, I personally found it less mentally tough for that reason.

After the Monday, I carried on bleeding for around a week (I think it can be up to 10 days). I felt very tired for the first few days, but otherwise, felt physically fit, even if my mind was all over the place.

For me, I found that going through the natural process with no medical intervention was the best way. I guess I was so convinced that I would have a baby, I didn't really believe the doctor when they told me I had miscarried. I guess I was hoping they had got it wrong. But going through the process helped me to rationalise it.

I have seen several articles saying that blighted ova are extremely common and so I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will be a terrible, but one off experience. I hope this is the case for all of us.

Please let me know if you have any more questions. I am happy to answer them if I can, although unlike loulou67, I have no medical training, so I can only tell you about my experience and I hope I remember everything I was told correctly.

HilaryG2, thanks for this, I completely relate to your experience. The only reason I can even consider the natural route is because I've been told there is no baby in there anymore. Like you, there was no sight of it on the scan. But even at that, part of me wonders - where is it? Was it reaborsbed, or just invisible on the scan, and thus still to come away? I hope so much it is the former. It is so ironic - for my first (problem-free) pregnancy, I opted for a planned caesaerian, and had to deal with many a 'too posh to push' jeer. But now that things have gone wrong in this second pregnancy, I'm somehow reluctant to request surgical intervention.

The odds are with you on your current pregnancy; keep the faith! With every best wish, and many thanks again.

JM54- Hope information and personal experience helped?

You wonder where is it? Was it reabsorbed. From what i can gather it is difficult in general, to tell at what stage of development everything stops unless their is an actual baby in the scan for the sonographer to 'date size'.

it could have been a blastocyst ( very early stage of egg and sperm development) Approx 1st week of implantation, Although it can happen at any given stage of development, A 'blighted Ovum' is thought to happen in the important early genetic stages , a pair of chromosomes become damaged and your body some how recognises this fault and stops the whole process, all except the bodies response to the hormones ,which is why women still feel pregnant right up to the end. I was still being sick on the morning of my miscarriage, cruel really!

If you were told that there is no baby, then be reasured that it would have likely to have been reabsorbed, so if you miscarry naturally you will only see a sac,I hardly felt it come out, it was strange feeling , but like HilaryG2, I too felt that going through the whole process, inc the last 2 wks was a very cathartic experience. I feel better able to cope mentally and look ahead positively.

I must say since i last sent post, I experienced quite a painfull night,which was unexpected as i thought it was over, so you should make sure you have enough pain relief at home.
I dont know whether you are attached to an Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit in your area , i have access to a nurse on the end of phone 24hrs a day which is very reasuring. I would advise you to go to one if their is one near you.

It is so comforting to see women who know what u are going through,I always feel better after visiting this page.

Loulou67, thanks for your posts, they certainly do help, paticularly with your medical knowledge, which goes some way to putting my mind at rest. Sorry to hear you had a rough night, I hope things are getting better for you now. After my scan I was given the number of the hospital's EPU, but haven't made contact yet, but may do so on Monday as it can only help, as you suggest. Have decided to wait for nature to take its course, so that's one bit of progress, I suppose. It's an odd kind of limbo just now; I feel sad about the lost baby, and scared at the prospect of the actual miscarriage, but visiting this site and hearing from people like yourself is helping to prepare me, and is a real comfort. Thanks again, and here's to a restful night for you.

I have just seen this thread and wanted to say that after a problem free 1st pregnancy I had a blighted ovum and it felt like the end of the world but I now have a 5 month old asleep in the next room. It is one of those inexplicable things that feels awful at the time but it does not mean that you will not manage to get, and stay, pregnant. I opted for the D and C route. My bf, who went throught the same thing at the same time decided to go for the natural route. We both felt thatwhat we did was right for us. She has also since had a baby.
good luck and look after yourselves x

Anneme, thanks for the reassurance, it really helps.

Jm 54, I am wondering how you are? I hope you got through the process and had support? I amback at work now and every one knows, which was hard to do. hope your ok?