Poor gestational sac growth

[stellamac]

Hello

I'm looking for some advice regarding gestational sac growth. I am 6wks +3 post conception and have been told by local Pregnancy Support Centre (PSC) to prepare for a miscarriage.

First attended PSC with right sided pain. Blood tests showed HCG of 1900. Two days later HCG has risen to only 2900 and scan had shown right sided corpus luteum cyst which was likely cause of pain and a possible gestational sac in uterus. Midwife was concerned about lack of rise of HCG and I was to return for scan in 1 week.

During that week I felt optimistic after reading on the internet that HCG levels can be very variable and that if over 1000, can take up to 4 days to double. A few days later I had a very tiny amount of brown spotting but have not had any since.

The scan a week later however showed poor growth of the gestational sac - previous was 5x6X6 (roughly), 2nd scan 5x6x9. A yolk sac was also present at this time.

The sonographer said it may be that the pregnancy is a week earlier than previously thought, however discussions with the midwife after scan painted a very bleak picture. Her concerns were lack of growth in a week. According to information on internet the sac should grow by 1mm per day. She said my body will not yet have recognised the poor growth and will do eventully which is when I will miscarry. I have to return in another week to check the growth again - I'm not sure if this means that there is a chance that this pregnancy may still be okay.

Has anyone had a similar experience? I am waiting each day to miscarry and feel like I have given up on this pregnancy. Although I still have pregnancy symptoms (tiredness, tender breasts) I have no worsening of these.

Any advice on growth would be appreciated. It's been a very difficult time and, as many of you have already written, the waiting is extremely painful.

Hello.
So sorry you are having to go through this.

Ive got experience of this unfortunately.

Because your body is not yet recognising that the pregnancy is not progressing, you will continue to have pregnancy symptoms.

For me, these suddenly stopped at about week 7/8.

From experience, a baby should be visible in the sac (or at the very least a fetal pole) at around the 6/7 week mark. They have never been concerned about the size of the sac for me, just at the lack of anything in the sac.
Also they have never been concerned about HCG levels, because they are a poor indicator of progression. As some women will tell you their HCG levels barely rose, and yet they went on to have normal pregnancies.

As you have begun to bleed, it may not be long for you to wait, hopefully.

again, sorry for this, it is utter crapola

Hi, I'm kinda going through the same. At 5w4d my sac and yolk were visable 6x11x9 HCG 4454. I'm waiting for my next scan on tues as I've got a cyst on my right ovary 61x40.7x42.2 :( they told me to prepare for a miscarriage however the pregnancy could still progress. Looking on here there's a few people who have had this prob but by the 12 week scan as long as you've not had red bleeding baby measures the right size.

Hi brokeoven and smummys

Thanks for your replies, yes it totally sucks. Sorry that you're both going through/been through the same thing. I have been reading about medical vs surgical removal of pregnancy and it makes for very depressing reading. Oh well. Got to go through it to get past it I guess. Still holding out a teeny bit of hope that all will be okay.

I was told today they want your HCG levels to rise at least 66% every 48 hours. I've just been for another scan and 2 weeks on and things are normal in the pregnancy. I'd prepare for the worst but still hold on to that hope.

I had bleeding at 6 weeks, went for a scan and there was a sac measuring 5 weeks, nothing visible in it. Ten days later there was a baby and heartbeat, measuring 7 weeks 3 days!!
Good luck.

stellamac - sorry to hear you are in the horrible limboland of no answer with your pregnancy. Please don't depress yourself with reading about removal of the pregnancy at this stage. It is too early to have no hope at all. Having being through 10 miscarriages now, I know it is hard. Sometimes there can be poor growth and behind in dates, especially in the early days and even more so in women with a tilted uterus. Women can have this and go on to have normal pregnancies, even with the slow-rising HCG, it can continue ok (if you want to raise your hope google to find the misdiagnosed miscarriages website).

I don't want to give you false hope, but I was just concerned that you might be being encourages to look at ways of trying to end the pregnancy before it is conclusively not progressing. I have had misleading scans saying that all was lost, when it was not. Also, I found at the early stage you are at, that a natural miscarriage was not as bad as I feared and emotionally was easier than the ERPC.

Anyway, I hope for the best for you,
I hope that being that this limbo that you are in at the moment, of not knowing, changes soon and that you get the answer regarding your pregnancy soon.

SMummyS& Pumpster - that's brill! Congratulations! So pleased for you both.

Galwaygal - thanks, that's a lovely message. I'm heartborken that you've had to go through 10 miscarriages. I hope things have worked out for you.