Where has my baby gone? :-(

[Doodlequackquack]

I had a scan in the Early Pregnancy Unit yesterday due to some very very light/barely there blood occasionally when I've wiped the last few days. They tested my urine which was normal in everything, including a positive pg test.

I had an abdominal then an internal scan, and apparently the pg sac and my uterus measured about 14 weeks like it should, but there were no 'fetal parts' found. The docor said she was 99.9% sure it was a mmc, or silent miscarriage as she also said. I need a second scan in the main maternity dept and a second opinion to confirm and to discount the v slim chance of an ectopic or that my dates are wildly wrong. But she's sure she's right because of the measurements, and she said she was shocked herself because that's not what she was expecting to see.

My dating scan was booked for Weds anyway (at 14+0), and after hanging around literally all day, that is the earliest they can book me in. Even a private scan fairly locally won't be any quicker.

So now I'm waiting. I have no pain, no more bleeding. I don't have much in the way of pg symtoms anymore, but then I didn't with my perfectly healthy DD after the initial weeks of tireness wore off.

Has anyone else had this? Why does my body still think it is pg and is continuing to grow? I thought with a mmc, the fetus had diea/stopped growing, but was there to see. The doctor was keen to wait for the second opinion before she answered questions about when the loss happened, because apparently in the EPU they don't deal with this often.

But how can a baby of any gestation just disappear and my body still be 13-14 weeks? I don't want to google and scare myself with horror stories. I'm so confused, and shocked Please, I would appreciate hearing about any similar experiences. x

so sorry OP, same thing happened to me but a little earlier (12+2). In most MMC (missed miscarriage, also called silent miscarriage) the baby has died but the body hasn't miscarried yet. But there is a particular kind of MMC, called a blighted ovum or anembryonic pregnancy. This may be what's happened to you, it happened to me too. In these, very early after fertilisation, the part of the egg that grows into the baby doesn't develop, but the part that creates the sac and placenta does. You therefore end up with an empty sac on scan I had had no bleeding and plenty of pg symptoms (because pg symptoms come from the placenta).

please be very kind to yourself, it's an awful thing and a huge shock. hope you have lots of support.

I'm so sorry this is happening to you, it happened to me, too.
I discovered at 11 weeks that the sac had continued to grow but a baby hadn't developed. This type of miscarriage is called a blighted ovum. I miscarried naturally about a week after it was confirmed.
Be kind to yourself, op.

Thank you both so much, what you say makes perfect sense but I'm so sorry it happened to you too.

In a way, I suppose if they confirm it was a very early loss and my body didn't get the memo, it would be preferable to knowing the baby developed to 13 weeks then died. It's just such a shock to find out at this point and out of the blue.

My DH has been amazing, and my mum too, and she's always on hand to look after my DD, so I am very lucky.

Thanks again xx

Hi OP,

I'm so sorry for your news.

Just to add another possibility - in some cases the foetus does begin to develop but then dies and is then absorbed back into the sac / womb lining - as opposed to a blighted ovum when it doesn't develop at all.

In my second mc we saw the baby at 8.5weeks on a scan and when I miscarried at 12 wks it had died and already been absorbed back into the sac.

I only add this as I didn't know this was possible and had put my first mc down to a blighted ovum but in hindsight it could have been the same thing.

Hugs x

I'm very sorry that this has happened to you.

When I was told at the scan about my first MMC (I've had two now) I wasn't aware there was such a thing so can understand the feelings that you are going through.

You will probably find it helpful to have a look at the Miscarriage Association website as that's a good source of clear information.

I'm so grateful for the advice, thank you.

And thank you for the link to the other thread. I've had a read of the first page or so because I like to feel informed, and although it is still very light, I have started bleeding again this afternoon, this time bright red I just hope that I have an ok night and get to my appointment (at 1pm) without too much drama. They told me to come straight to the EPU or A&E if they're closed if I start bleeding heavily or get strong cramps. I suppose miscarrying naturally at this stage is not ideal, and I'd rather not go through it.

I can't see me getting much sleep but I'll try. God I'm so grateful to mn for practical advice and the people here to offer kind words. x