When is the safest and earliest to have a scan after your BFP?

[jollyjellybean]

I got my bfp last week and am very excited but have had previous mcs :( and am naturally very worried and just wondered when the earliest I could have a scan to see if everything is oK?

Ive heard that its not safe to have an early scan and they would normally only do it when required

Does anyone know if its safe to have an early scan for example at 6 weeks and what could be seen at that stage?

I have never heard that early scans aren't safe - who told you that?

I had a viginal scan at 6 weeks with this pregnancy coz I had miscarried a few months before. double check but I think its ok xx

thanks lily and sophs - I heard from a friend who had been told by a medic that it wasn't safe to have an early scan unless absolutely required

I think I would quite like to have one given my previous mc and hopefully it would help put my mind at rest
Would a blood test be able to tell just as much in terms of the levels of HCG or would a scan be better?
Can they tell a fair amount from the 6 week scan Sophs?

It's not that it's unsafe, it's because it's too early to see anything! I had a lot of early scans due to fertility treatment and multiple miscarriages. From about 6 weeks +3 or 4 days you might see a heartbeat (in a blob, that's all). If you went around that time you could end up stressing for no reason as you'd only need to be a day or two out in your calculations to end up seeing no heart beat.

Scans are expensive and the clinics are full of people with bleeding and other miscarriage symptoms, so with no symptoms they won't usually scan you. However with multiple previous miscarriages they might make an exception. I completely understand that you want the reassurance though.

I have had early transvaginal scans and so far 5 scans and I'm only 18 weeks, I've got another 3 booked but likely to have another one booked.

There is no evidence to suggest danger I've spoke to songraphers, midwives and consultants about it and none of them have concerns.

When it comes to transvaginal scans there may be a slight incress in miscarriages but only because they are likely to be done when there are already concerns about the pregnancy or mother is classified as high risk.

If you want reassurance that the pregnancy is healthy and likely to stay that way then have a scan at 9weeks +. If a heartbeat is found at 9 weeks then the chance of MC goes from 1 in 5 to only 1% of all pregnancies.

At 9 weeks its likely to be an abdominal scan unless you are overweight.

At 6 weeks its not much more than a blob with a heartbeat.

they could detect a small fetus n could see a heartbeat which was all I cared about after the miscarriage. not much else they can see so I went on my symptoms after that until my 12 week scan. if u have had a mc in the last yr then they should see you. Gd luck and enjoy yr pregnancy. xx

Hi OP

I like you had a previous MC and booked a private reassurance scan for 8 weeks. MW and GP both said no to an NHS scan unless I was bleeding, which was fair enough.

Able to see a baby shape at 8 weeks and a heart beat which is all I wanted to see tbh!

Try not to panic. Head over to the pregnant after MC thread on here. Plenty of support and hand holding xx

If you go for an early reassurance scan, the best time to do it is at 8 weeks. At six weeks even if you see a heartbeat there is still a 22% chance of miscarriage, but by 8 weeks if a heartbeat is seen that number drops to 2%.

Congratulations and good luck!

Yes, waiting until around 8 weeks is a good time. If you go too early they might not see much, or what they see might be inconclusive. Which is additional heart ache whilst you wait to go again and see what they see that time.

At 6 weeks they might see a heart beat, but then they might not. That's very stress-inducing as you don't kwno whether it is just that you are one of the ones where they don't, or whether it is the start of a problem.

thank you all SO much for your replies - that is so useful :)

I was thinking I should go due to my previous miscarriages but I now think based on what you say that I really should wait. It makes alot of sense what you all say not to have one until a bit later and the percentage of mc reducing after 8 weeks to 2% I had not heard about
before so I think this definitely would persuade me to wait

Im the biggest worrier ever and when you've had a few mc you really start to stress about everything but it really makes alot of sense to wait a little longer

I am concernced as although it is very very early on as Im only just 5 weeks my one or two pregnancy symptoms I did have (sickness and cramps) have now completely disappeared and I have NO symptoms whatsoever which I am REALLY scared about as I know this was not a good sign previously

Would anyone know if this sounds normal or not? Is this normal if you get a bfp and have a few pg symptoms and then within a few days you have NOTHING

I am really starting to panic about that and hope this is normal??

any reassurance would be gratefully received

THank you so much again for all your feedback re the scan - that was so very useful

With both of my pregnancies I had symptoms that disappeared and then returned with a vengeance (didn't mc either if those though). Fingers crossed for you.

If you have had MC before then an early scan now probably won't help much anyway because you will just be thinking "it's not happened yet.."
I would wait till 9 weeks and get some proper assurance.

I understand how long the first trimester is, I lost my baby at 16 weeks, once you have experienced loss its hard to relax and have faith everything will be ok its totally normal to be panicking. Pregnancy just becomes a waiting game.

No symptoms is normal too. I didnt have any much later in this pregnacy until 7/8 weeks. Last time hypermisser kicked in at 6 weeks!
Every pregnancy is different.

Hi, I would also wait if you can. I had a scan at 5+4 following a bleed and they could tell me there were 2 sacs there, one smaller than the other, but couldn't see heartbeats. They told me there was no way if knowing if both sacs would develop. I had to wait 14 days to have another scan but then saw 2 heartbeats. It was the longest 2 weeks of my life, in lots of ways not knowing would probably have been better because I felt like in those 2 weeks I had so much to lose (if that makes sense).

thanks for your replies
thats v reassuring to know flisspaps - I was so happy to have a few pg symptoms with my bfp and then yesterday and today absolutely nothing and they have all disappeared and I am really panicking because of my last few mc

its v reassuring to hear yr symptoms disappeared too and that you were fine - relief :)

yes I think that's very good advice littlebairn - Ive been offered a scan at 8 weeks and I think that or 9 weeks would be best to wait for -
thanks for reassuring me too about the lack of symptoms - I was worried as I did have some and then they disappeared and due to previous mc I just thought this was not a very good sign but Im very happy if this sounds normal - don't obvoisuly want any sickness etc but after all the many mc really am desperate for this to be healthy and successful

thanks mandy21 - yes all you say makes perfect sense - when you know a bit of info but not the whole picture that time you have to wait must seem like a lifetime - so pleased it turned out well for you

Im very happy to wait and thanks to all your advice I think this is defiitely the best thing to do

Would anyone suggest a blood test instead of the early scan as this would show if things were going ok?

Bloods would show if your HCG is rising, but one test doesn't show much. You need to see how it behaves over time. My friend who had IVF had a million blood tests with three successful pregnancies and each time they panicked her as numbers weren't quite normal.

I have had five pregnancies (2 DC, 2 MC and currently 20 weeks). Both children symptoms came and went. Consistent symptoms this time and with one MC and no symptoms with one MC. I don't think that you can tell much from symptoms.

thanks so much for your reply penguins - that's really helpful

Its reassuring to hear that that symptoms are all different for different pgs I was just worried as I didn't want my previous few symptoms to completely disappear as I thought this indicated that things were not going well

Re the blood tests its also reassuring to hear that levels don't follow a consistent pattern

should try and stop worrying but with having had 3 mcs I guess I am very panicked about everything but will try and relax a bit more

great to hear others stories who have been in this situation and that things turned out really well - so very encouraging

It is very difficult to stay calm when you've had previous losses. I can understand that.

I think all you can keep repeating to yourself is that you have to wait it out. No pattern of symptoms really means any more or less than any other. You could be someone who will always have the symptoms come and go, especially this early on. Even with my current pregnancy, although I had symptoms consistently through the early stages , they weren't the same every day IYSWIM. Some days I felt dizzy, some not. Some days I was nauseous, some not.

With the HCG, at certain stages they expect them to double every 48 hours (or it might be 24, I cant remember), but really it's only telling you much if you are being closely monitored as with my friend's IVF pregnancy. And even then they would call her saying her levels weren't doing what was expected and she would get stressed and waiting for things to go wrong, and then they didn't...

Hi jolly I'd also vote for 8 weeks. I've had 4 MC and am under the care of the recurrent miscarriage clinic. I had one very early scan to make sure pregnancy was in the right place before starting clexane at 5+4, and at that stage could see a tiny blob but no HB (so not reassured at all) then had weekly scans from 8 weeks as I have tended to have losses between 8 + 10 weeks. Everyone who said if you have a positive 8 week scan then your chances are very good is right I'm just weird
Nice threads for pregnancy after MC and recurrent miscarriage support if you'd care to join us.

jollyjellybean - congratulations!
It is not uncommon for the symptoms to come and go so don't worry about it too much.
Are you taking any medication? Some drugs (e.g. steroids) can mask pregnancy symptoms.
If you are really worried you could consider having a repeat beta-HCH (pregnancy hormone) blood test. In early pregnancy the hormone levels double about every 48 hours. (I had that done - also pregnant after previous loses - and it reassured me). I used this thing to help me interpret my results:

www.babymed.com/tools/hcg-calculator

However, in some pregnancies hormones don't double as quickly as expected but the pregnancy may still continue. So it's up to you to decide whether having the test would reassure you or stress you out.

Good luck!

8/9 weeks is definitely the optimal time.
At this stage the biggest MC risk has passed- and if they detect a decent heartbeat then, your chances of MC dip to 3% which is tiny!

if you go at 6/7 weeks you'll still have the 8 week hurdle to get beyond anyhow.

if you can afford it though do a 6 and 8!

Question- at what week did the other MCs take place?

thanks so much everyone that's really helpful

you have all convinced me that waiting as long as I can is the right thing
having had repeated losses its so hard not to worry and as happy as I am to have a bfp I am still panicked from previous occassions

thanks for the link bakingtins - I will definitely come and join you - this will be the perfect thread for me :)

thanks chocolate - Id very much like to have my bloods tested but am struggling to find where I would get this done - my gp won't organise this for me so I would I expect need to go privately

chica my other mcs were early - 5, 7 and 9 so am stressing big time now :(
am just going hour by hour at the moment and hoping I can get to the 9 weeks very quickly - wish I could invent a time machine to get me there now and past all this stressful worry!

You poor thing. i really REALLY hope the next few weeks pass quickly for you!! 6 and 8 weeks seem to be big hurdles to get over.

Completely left field but are you a big coffee drinker?
I got it into my head that coffee increased MC risk so gave it up more or less completely. Only have 1 or 2 a week now. God i miss it!

I was up the walls about a miscarriage as well, with no real reason, so i just cant imagine how you are feeling. But all you can do is relax, take it easy and try and not stress. Easier said than done of course! i think once you get an 8/9 week scan and see the heartbeat you are home and dried. best of luck and keep us informed!

Congrats on your BFP :)
I feel your pain, I am 9 weeks pregnant tomorrow and a massive worrier following IVF to get pregnant.
My clinic arranged an early viability scan which I had last week (internal scan) when I was 7 weeks 6 days, but I know people have had them more like 6 weeks after IVF. We saw a heartbeat, the yolk sac and the baby (which looked more like a seahorse!) but it was very small obviously and although you can see it on the pictures it doesn't really look like anything.
If they hadn't have offered that scan, I would have paid for a private one at around 8 weeks anyway for reassurance. The private ultrasound clinic near me does an early reassurance scan for £60 between 6-14 weeks.
I can't find any real evidence to suggest scans are dangerous and I did a lot of research on this.
I know what you mean about the time machine! The 3 weeks in between my bfp and scan felt like an eternity but somehow it had also come round before I knew it!
I think waiting until more like 8 weeks for a private scan is your best option. I know I couldn't personally have waited until the 12 week one, IVF or not! Good luck with whatever you decide and wishing you a healthy and happy pregnancy!

Completely agree Keepthechange, if it's one bit of advice i'd give people it's to pay for a private scan at 8/9 weeks if they can at all afford it. I wasnt willing to wait until Week 12 either.
Also, 'missed' miscarriages seem to happen around 7/8 weeks but might not be picked up until you have your 12 week scan- that's 4 weeks of built up excitement brought crashing down at the 12 week scan, whereas it could be picked up so much earlier. It wont stop it from happening, it just means you find out a month earlier. Whereas having a 9 week scan, finding the heartbeat means you can really enjoy weeks 9-12 stress free.

Thank you all so very much for your replies
its so kind of you to let me know whats best and all your feedback sounds so sensible and practical and the best thing to do

thanks so much for all your advice re hcg levels penguins - I think maybe its best not to have the blood tests as I would probably stress too much if they were doing different things to the "norm" so probably best option not to have this

thanks bakingtins for your advice - Im also taking clexane for blood clotthing disorder - just wondered what your opinion was of this and if you're doing the injections or getting someone to do it??? Were you advised by the recurrent miscarriage clinic to take this for the whole of the pregnancy or is this something to be taken for only a limited amount of time?? It would be so good to hear from you about this as Im also taking this and am rather daunted by it all :(

thanks for sending me the links for the two threads - they sound like the perfect threads for me - many thanks :)

thanks for your kind words chica - Im not a coffee drinker - I do enjoy enjoy it but heard that it wasnt good when ttc so gave it up a few months ago to try and improve my chances

thanks so much everyone re your advice re the scan - I think I will have a scan in the next week just for some reassurance fingers crossed that goes well and then one at week 8 or 9 as this sounds like the best time

its been so valuable to get your feedback and advice and Im so grateful

HUGE thanks to you all