Heartbeat but too small

[Cara20]

This is my sixth pregnancy. Four of the previous ones have resulted in miscarriage and I have a beautiful daughter. I went for an early (private) scan yesterday and although a heartbeat was seen, it was far too small for my dates (6 weeks vs 7 weeks 5 days according to LMP). I booked an appointment to see my GP today and asked for an early scan in a couple of weeks but my local early pregnancy unit have refused saying that as long as there is a heartbeat it is a viable pregnancy and I must have just got my dates wrong (I haven't). Has anyone had such a big date discrepancy and not gone on to have a miscarriage? Are the EPU right to say there is no need to worry? The dreaded internet is full of horror stories and it doesn't seem promising although I do feel extremely pregnant at the moment with riproaring morning sickness and exhaustion. Was hoping so much that this would be my last pregnancy, last time to go through all the worry of the early weeks etc. if anyone has had any similar experiences (with good or bad outcomes) I would love to hear

Yep, by nearly 2 weeks. I musty have ovulated just before my period was due. He's a healthy, very energetic toddler now.

Hi Cara. I'm so sorry you're going through this, I know how worrying it is when there are no clear cut answers. Like you, I've had several losses and have an amazing daughter (conceived a few months after my first mmc).

Sadly my most recent pregnancy has ended today after an early reassurance scan at what should have beeen 8w 2d showed a heartbeat but a two week difference in dates. I was 100% sure of my dates. A rescan eight days later showed that there was no longer a heartbeat and minimal growth. I've had an ERPC today.

Like you may have, I spent the week in between looking for stories and I do think hearing bad as well as good helped me to prepare for the outcome even though I was naturally hoping for the best so I hope you don't mind me posting this. And it's important to remember that there are lots of positive stories out there and lots of factors that affect the accuracy of scan measurements.

The most frustrating thing is that no one can say what your own outcome will be because there's simply no way to tell yet - I'd guess the reason the EPAU won't want to scan you know is that at this stage there won't be enough difference until a week or so has passed to make an assessment of viability. A clear fast heartbeat is a great sign though - in my own scan getting an accurate picture took a while ( I have a tilted uterus apparently) and my own pulse pounding made it difficult to see the hb clearly. For this reason I decided not to book a private scan in between my two EPAU ones - even though my finger hovered over the book now button a few times! - I just realised that still having no answers would make me more anxious. Perhaps if you approach your GP again in a few days they will try again. Depending on the hospital you might be able to self refer too?

I sincerely am hoping things work out for you, look after yourself. Hopefully will see you here again soon with good news xx

BloodInMyCaffeineStream so nice to hear your good news story. DonkeySix really sorry for your loss and thanks so much for sharing your experience. I know exactly how hard those weeks can be after another loss so rest up and look after yourself. I phoned the miscarriage association helpline today who were super helpful - gave me a list of local EPUs where I might be able to self refer. If that fails I will probably try the GP again next week. I am braced for bad news but would like this to be sooner rather than later! Will update the thread when I know more.

I went for a scan when I thought I was 7 weeks and 3 days and the scan put me at 5 weeks and 6 days. By the time of my dating scan around 12 weeks baby had caught up most of that and I was only a week out from my lmp dates. This appears to be really common and seeing a hb at such an early stage is a real positive sign. My baby is now nearly 6 months old!

Sorry I got that the wrong way round.. I thought I was 7+6 and scan measured 5+3

@Cara20
The embryo is so small in the early weeks it's often not that accurate. My sonographer took an average. During 1 scan my measurements were between 6+4 and 7+1. There is a heartbeat. You've got symptoms, it's all looking positive x