Missed misscarriage - Could they be wrong?

[hayleymig]

Hi All

I'm so desperate for advice.

I found out I was pregnant for the first time on the 28th December. My last period was around the 16th November however they have been irregular since coming off the pill, 3 years ago. I did a clear blue test on the 28th December which confirmed I was 1-2 weeks. I booked in to see the midwife and explained all of this, however she said my due date would go from my last period so confirmed I was due around the 25th August.

On Friday 7th February, I went for my 11/12 week scan, the nurse asked if I could of been wrong about the dates. Not thinking at the time, I said "No" as the midwife was so sure. She then went on to do an internal scan and confirmed my baby measured 7 weeks and 3 days but there was no heartbeat. She said at this stage there should be a physical sign of a heart beat but ive had no signs of a misscarriage at all. I have had all the normal pregnancy signs, sore boobs, feeling really sick at night (instead of morning), not being able to get comfy etc. Im still having the symptoms now and my bellys grown so much in the last 3 weeks, to the point, I was thinking I could be carrying twins as they run through the family.

Could they be wrong and could my dates be wrong? If I go off the clear blue test, im around 7 weeks pregnant which confirms the scan dates, but if I go off my last period then im 12 weeks, meaning my baby died around 5 weeks ago and I didnt know. Also baby is still visible on the scan too.

Theres loads of different forums online stating it depends how the baby is positioned to hear the heart beat and its common to hear the heart beat around 6.5 weeks, however in some cases upto 8 weeks. Could my babies heart beat go unnoticed?

After my scan, I had to go to the early pregnancy unit to talk through my options, in which, I asked for a second opinion. They said they wouldn't do a scan again the same day, so im booked in again on Wednesday 12th February, which, if my theory is right, I will be 8 weeks.

Wednesday feels like a decade away so has anyone else had the same experience and what was your outcome? I dont want to give up just yet but dont want to build my hopes up either.

Thank you so much for reading this xxx

I'm sorry you're in this situation.

It's good you've got another scan booked in. There isn't any point doing a repeat scan the same day - they need to wait a few days to see if there's been any growth. I would say though that they're not trying to hear a heartbeat (which can be hard to do early on - they're looking to see one. By seven weeks, it's generally possible to see a heartbeat on a scan. Also, if you are 12 weeks, it doesn't mean your baby died a few weeks ago - a foetus which isn't developing properly will tend to have a slower growth rate than normal, so will often look "younger" than it really is, and at the point at which it stops developing it may shrink a bit too.

I'm sorry, op. I really hope it's good news for you on weds. I've had a mmc myself and it's a truly horrible thing to experience. But if it is bad news, remember that your chances of having a healthy baby are not affected at all by one or even two miscarriages. Thinking of you.

Hi OP

I'm afraid I don't have any advice but I am very much in the same situation - I discovered I was pregnant about a week and a half ago but my LMP was 25 Oct, so a long time ago. I went the the EPU last week as I started having mild cramping and a bit of bleeding (after several days of brown discharge) and the scan suggested a gestational sac corresponding in size to c.7-8 weeks, but no fetal pole and no heartbeat. I knew that you would really expect to see a heartbeat by that point.
I have another scan booked for Tuesday, but have been expecting things to take their course before then - but nothing has been happening, just more brown discharge.
There is a small part of me that wants the scan on Tuesday to show some change - maybe there will suddenly be a heartbeat?! - but rationally I know not to expect that. In my head I've written this pregnancy off (in fact it doesn't really feel like it really happened) but I guess my heart can't quite let it go yet.
Wishing you all the best for Wednesday

The clearblue test measures time from ovulation but the pregnancy is dated from 2 weeks before that (corresponds to LMP if you have a 4 week cycle) so 1-2 weeks on a CB test is actually 3-4 weeks pregnant, which would make you 9-10 weeks now. I' m so sorry you are in this situation, the limbo is awful. We do hear stories where somehow dates are way out and by the next scan everything is fine, but a 7+week embryo should have a HB and your dates look to be at least a couple of weeks out, so if I'm honest it doesn't look promising. We will hope for the best on your behalf until Wednesday.

So sorry to hear what you are going through. I had a scan at 7 weeks which did not show a heartbeat - all was fine. Much depends at that time on position of the sac, your bowel, skill of the sonographer etc. Hb to be seen is not guaranteed until after 8 weeks which is why they tend to wait for a bit.

However by 9-10 weeks the embryo should have developed enough for the he to be easily seen and the growth should match :( Unless your dates are wildly out? It is also unfortunately sometimes the case that your body does not recognise the pregnancy has ended and continues to produce pg hormones that give you morning sickness etc. Not common but it does happen.

I'm sorry to not give you better outcomes and hope I am wrong and your scan goes well

I had my scan after having brown discharge and cramping on Wednesday 29th January - they found a heartbeat, but I was not measuring in accordance with my LMP. Baby was under 6 weeks, but I said I was 9 weeks (I have been tracking my periods since I was a teen!)....got lots of bleeding the following Tuesday and had urgent scan on Wednesday morning this week to say there is no heartbeat and the pregnancy has ended. I've miscarried. MMC.

I am so sorry to hear of your news, it's not sounding good only because I've been through something fairly similar to you recently. I don't want to give you false hope. Of course I hope it does turn out to be good news but what I'd say is expect the worst and hope for the best in these situations. Thinking of you over the next few days

I've had a questionable scan at 7 weeks and been told to come back at 9 weeks, so they definitely won't write you off if they can't see a heartbeat at 7 weeks... for me it turned out that the baby had not grown and I went on to have a miscarriage but you know, anyone who answers you on this thread has probably had miscarriages so you aren't going to hear too many positive stories here - not to say that there aren't positive stories out there.

At the next scan, make sure there is time for a discussion about your date of ovulation and that your periods have been irregular, so they are using the most "optimistic" (i.e. the latest possible) date of conception to date your baby. If things have gone wrong, you want to be 100% sure in your own mind that they have given it long enough that you would definitely have seen a heartbeat. If the news is bad, you can opt to wait and miscarry naturally (or wait till you start bleeding and then have an ERPC) to be extra sure.

Best of luck.

The second scan will be to see if there has been any growth in the week between it and your last scan. If your foetus is growing, then this will be measurable, even though it's still very tiny at this stage.

The uncertainty is horrible - I feel for you. Missed miscarriages are cruel, because you often have no sign that things have gone wrong. I had one at 7-8 weeks, but had no idea until my 12-week scan.

Hi Hayley, just wanted to say I'm thinking of you and hope you got some good news. xx