6mm fetal pole and no heartbeat, any success stories?

[Enwi]

Hi ladies,
I’m desperately trying not to hold out hope, but I just can’t help it.
I found out on April 3rd I was pregnant, the day before AF was due. I should have been 4 weeks exactly at that point. At 8+2 weeks I went for an early scan and it was pretty damning. Sac contained yolk sac and fetal pole, but no heartbeat. The sonographer said I looked roughly 6 weeks. She said there were some other concerning things too, like a lack of blood flow going into the sac and an irregular shape to the sac with some grey in one corner. This was an abdominal scan. They referred me to my local hospital but basically said I would start to bleed soon.
The following day I had my appointment at the hospital. They said I looked slightly less than 6 weeks, and they couldn’t see any of what the previous sonographer mentioned regarding irregular shape to the sac or lack of blood flow. They said to them it looked perfectly possible that my dates were wrong, I wasn’t yet 6 weeks and this could be a healthy pregnancy that just hadn’t got a heartbeat yet. Fetal pole measured 4mm. Internal scan.
Today I had a follow up scan exactly one week later. Today they said the scan looked almost 7 weeks, fetal pole had grown to 6mm but still no heartbeat. They didn’t seem overly concerned, and said it could still be too early and I need to wait another week for a scan. I said it wasn’t possible that I’m only 6/7 weeks pregnant as I would have got a positive test at the same time as conception. (I should now be 9+2). The doctor suggested that possibly I had experienced a chemical pregnancy shortly after my positive test and then got pregnant again shortly after.
I just don’t know what to think. From what I’m reading online a 6mm fetal pole should certainly have a heartbeat. I don’t want to hold out hope and continue to agonise over this. To make matters worse I’m still experiencing all pregnancy symptoms that are worsening and i just feel like total crap. To think that there is likely going to be no baby at the end of this makes my suffering seem pointless.
With my first daughter I went for a scan at 6+4 and was told I was barely 5 weeks, but my dates caught up so I’m cautious about focusing too much on accurate measurements. However, there was a heartbeat on that scan at 6+4.

Does anyone have any similar stories about baby continuing to grow despite there being no heartbeat?

Bump x

I had a scan at 5+3 just a sac & at 7+3 a heartbeat. I havent went throught what your going through but diddnt Want to just read & leave.
Some people get heartbeat at 6wks others dont why they like u to be over 7wks. People have said on here there dates have been off ive never had this but im sure it happens. When do u go for your next scan?x

Scan at 5+4 - no heartbeat. 7 weeks - heartbeat. He’s 2 now!

Thanks for replying ladies. Scan is next Friday. 6 more days of uncertainty! Xx

Good luck, really hope it's good news for you x

Really hope it's good news for you @Enwi

Dates can be off. EPAU dated me at 5 weeks but I had a heartbeat. Was worried baby was too small so went private and a week later it was 7 weeks, nearly 8, like I thought I should be.

Is it your 1st baby? I have a retroverted uterus and none of my scans have ever shown a heartbeat until 10 weeks. I’ve been told in two of my pregnancies that it may not be viable and those children are now 15 and 10!

Early scans cause upset and worry.

How come you had early scans?
I was similar to you. No heartbeat at 5 weeks then I think I went back around 7 or so weeks and we found one.
I wish you the best

Thanks everyone. This is my second pregnancy. I had an early scan due to premature rupture of membranes with my first daughter. They wanted to do regular scans to be able to detect any changes in the cervix.
I had an early scan with my daughter due to bleeding at 6+4 and was told that she was measuring very far behind, but there was a heartbeat. She caught up perfectly at the next scan two weeks later.
I know it can be too early to see a heartbeat, i’m mostly worried because the baby is big enough that a heartbeat should be detectable x

How are you @Enwi ? X

Thanks for asking lovely. I’m doing OK. I seem to have days of feeling fine and then all of a sudden it hits me, seemingly out of the blue.
I have my next scan on Friday. X

It must feel like a lifetime between now and Friday, try to keep busy (hard I know). Will keep everything crossed for you xxx

I know this is a relatively old post but just wondered what your outcome was @Enwi?
I’m going through similar.
Had a scan today where the fetal pole measured 6mm but no heartbeat.
I’m being rescanned in 10 days, but already been in limbo the last 2 weeks.

Moomin I'm not the OP but I had a very similar situation. Measuring 6 weeks, fetal pole and no heartbeat, but knew I should be measuring 8 weeks due to IVF (and the clinic said we should be able to find a heartbeat at this stage).

I was heartbroken, but had another scan a few weeks later and a strong heartbeat was found. Everything was ok and she's 3 now.

Fingers crossed for you x

Thank you @LetsAskaRobot, I appreciate you taking the time to reply to me.
I’m not certain of my dates. I know when my lmp was but my cycles weren’t regular, I’d previously in the 2 cycles before my bfp had a 36 day cycle, then a 29 day one, so no knowing when I ovulated or implanted.
I have had bleeding when wiping for the last 2 weeks so fully expected to go in today to be told things were gone. I’d gone in for an early scan last Monday (23rd where the fetal pole measured 2.5mm) so there has been growth which the nurse was positive about, but still no heartbeat. And like Enwi, everything I can find online indicates there should be a heartbeat at 6mm if it’s a viable pregnancy.
I just want an end to this limbo, I’d mentally prepared myself to start medical management today, so to now have to wait another 10 days is going to be torture.
Seems my body not only can’t grow a healthy pregnancy, but doesn’t know how to get rid of one that isn’t progressing 😥

I’m really sorry @Moominmiss , it wasn’t good news for me. There was growth after a further week, but still no heart beat. I had to go back another week later to find that the sac had started to deteriorate and baby had shrunk. Was booked in for D&C but miscarried naturally the evening before at 12 weeks.

However, a friend of mine went through something incredibly similar only 3 months after I did. She went back after 10 days to find a healthy baby with a heartbeat, measuring up with her original dates (so baby had caught up 3 and a half weeks in 10 days!) so please don’t lose hope yet.

I’m now 19 weeks pregnant with our rainbow

Oh @Enwi I’m sorry for your loss, but huge congrats on your rainbow baby!!!
Thank you for replying.
I’m fully expecting bad news, especially since all of this has been accompanied with bleeding for the last 2 weeks that they have been so far unable to explain.
If I’m honest I just wanted to be able to start medical management today so I can get some sort of ‘normal’ back and think about ttc again.
I feel waiting 10 days at this stage really is just prolonging they inevitable.
Wishing you a healthy remainder of your pregnancy!

I felt exactly the same way. Each time I went for a scan I would leave feeling so angry that they wouldn’t just terminate the pregnancy there and then. Then each day that crept by I’d feel my hope building again, only to have it smashed to smithereens at my next scan. It was a truly awful time.

Let the feelings come, know that no feeling is a bad one and give yourself time to heal.

That’s exactly the way I feel. Angry, angry that they won’t listen to me when I say I know what’s going on with my body, I know what feels normal. I know because I no longer feel pregnant, I know that it’s gone and my body just hasn’t recognised it.
I’m 37 and time isn’t on my side so stretching this awful process out is just such a kick in the teeth when I just want to move on.
I know they have such strict guidelines to adhere to these days, but everything I’ve read says about 6mm and no heartbeat is a definite sign of a non viable pregnancy and impending miscarriage, so why do they even try to I still any kind of false hope.
Thank you for your kind words. I will come back to update when I have more news, just so anyone in the future that might read this thread and not feel alone.

Sorry to hear it wasn't a good outcome for you Enwi.

Moomin I had bleeding at 6 weeks which was why I had the scan (wasn't supposed to have one until 8 weeks), so I hope it's good news for you at the next scan.

Thank you @LetsAskaRobot I will continue to pray for a miracle outcome, but I feel much more in control preparing myself for the worst. The red blood on wiping hasn’t let up for 2 weeks now. I was quite shocked there was no evidence of bleeding at the scan tbh!

@MoominMantra I'm so sorry you are going through this. I'm 37 too and a similar thing happened to me last year. I am now 5 +3 and I'm terrified the same will again. You are in my prayers xx

Sorry to hear about these. @MomminMantra don’t give up hope. I bled for a miscarriage and bled very little. Later with another pregnancy I bled because I had a blood clot which threatened the pregnancy and bled an awful lot I didn’t think it possible to be pregnant. That baby is practically a young man now. So keep on until the scan says otherwise.

How are you doing? @MoominMantra