Ectopic pregnancy?

[woollygiraffe]

How early can an ultasound examination pick up a baby?

I know someone in hosp at the moment who is 5 weeks pg.
She was admitted with strong period pains,were bad that have now subsided and also with intermittant brown spotting.
The obvious concern is ectopic pg, but meanwhile they are waiting to find the baby on a scan.
Something around the ovary but?

Nothing so far but its way too early isnt it?

5 weeks or so..you can see a sac in the uterus......but little else..

brown spotting and pain can indicate an ectopic, but equally, can be a threatened miscarriage of a uterine pregnancy

the good thing is that she is in hospital, which means they will investigate the cause of the pain and spotting

hope she is ok

It depends on the tech and the equipment. A friend of mine went for a dating scan and they picked up a heartbeat at 5 weeks.

Thanks Lulumama.
Yes we are relieved that she is there. They are monitoring the hcg levels.
They didnt see anything in the uterus yet but she might even be less than 5 weeks in reality (going on date of ovulation not last period)

If it were ectopic then surely the pain wouldnt just stop completely like this would it?

MKG, gosh thats good. I think the unit is closed til after new year but they have scanned her all the same.

So you think that if the baby was where it should be they would have seen it?

pain can be intermittent, and if she is less than 5 weeks, harder to see what is going on....her HCG levels will hopefully give an indication of where the pregnancy is established...wishing her all the best

does depend on the equipment and expertise ...... 7 weeks is more typical to detect a heartbeat

It depends on the person/baby if anything would be visible. If they think she is less than 5 weeks they may not be able to see much, maybe just the sack.

Definitely agree that 5 weeks is not typical to get a heartbeat.

But they couldnt see the sac or anything at all.

I think the worrying aspect is of course the longer they wait the more risky it may become.
This is so heartbreaking.

if the sac is not in the uterus, but in the tube, that is a different situation to the sac simply not being visible , IFYSWIM

hospital is the best place,

Yes I do.
They just dont know and are keeping her in.

Thank you for your opinions.

do let us know how she gets on x

Thanks Lulu (its my little sister and she has been trying for ages and ages so am extra worried.)
Will let you know. x

bless....sending lots of positive vibes x

Hope she's ok. It sucks how we have all this technology and it always comes down to "wait and see"

Stop it , your kindness is making me tearful

keeping my fingers crossed

it's good they have kept her in. I was sent home with a suspected ectopic and was over 6 weeks. It sounds as though they are being very cautious.

The pain is more worrying - is it one sided? but spotting can happen at around the time the period would have been due, so 4, 8 and sometimes 12 weeks and the pregnancy can carry on and be healthy.

What are her HCG levels doing, do you know?

Cyrilsquirrel. Yes I know what you mean as with all mine I had pain around the time my periods were due (all ok in the end tho)

The pain is similar to period pain and comes in waves of strength if that makes sense.
Paracetomol stops it so it cant be too strong I think. Not one sided.
Hcg is about 800.
What happened with your situation?

Thank you Paulaplumpbottom.

Oh and it stops completely when lying down. Seems to have diminished today.
Loss is very minimal.

mine was a miscarriage but because I was early they couldn't see an embryo/sac and thought it may be ectopic.

I wish her well. Hopefully it's just some spotting and things will work out well for her

Cyrilsquirrel, I am so sorry.

Thanks for your kind words, I will keep you posted x

Sad news, was the outcome we all feared.