Early Scan No Fetus Help!

[Racoonworld]

I thought I was 5+6 today, and went for a private early scan as I suffer from anxiety and the waiting is awful. The scan showed a sac and yolk sac, and dated roughly in the early half of 5 weeks. No fetal pole or heartbeat or anything. Now I'm really worrying, is this normal? It puts me at around half a week earlier than I thought which isn't too bad I guess, but should there be a fetus at this stage? Does this mean I will miscarry?

gestational sac measured at 7.16mm if that helps!

What did the sonographer say?

They said inconclusive as very early. But this wasn't with the NHS and they didn't really say what is normal at this stage. Googling has got me worried that there should be a fetus visible by now

I had a scan at exactly 6 weeks where my sac was empty and measured around 18mm then at 7 weeks it was 26mm and still empty, just a gestational sac and nothing else even though my HCG was around 70,000 and had been doubling. I had something called a blighted ovum diagnosed 2 weeks ago

I've read many stories on here ( and was told by my sonographer ) that sometimes the sac can be empty and small one week and another scan a week later shows a feotus with a heartbeat.

A lady I made friends with at the EPU had the yolk sac visible at 6 weeks but nothing else then a week later a heartbeat was seen.

Did your sonographer talk to you about it? Best of luck to you

Totally normal OP in that early stage of pregnancy. I had a scan at around the same time as you and a sac was seen but that was all. Was asked to come back in 2 weeks and there was the little bean inside the sac. I'm now 17 weeks and all is well. Best of luck x

Hi OP I also had a scan at 5 1/2 weeks and they saw a gestational sac with a yolk sac on the internal scan only. No fetal pole or HB. Had another scan at 6 1/2 weeks (abdominal) and fetal pole was there and measured a teeny 3.2mm. At 8 weeks there was an obvious difference again! Am now 13 weeks. So please try and relax, not seeing much at this stage can be totally normal as the baby is so tiny. The sonographer didn’t seem worried at all when she only saw yolk sac, she reassured me that it was just too early and she was right! Good luck!

Just so you can compare this was my first scan with just the yolk sac! Baby is now about 7cm!

I had scan at what I thought was 5 week 6 days and they seen nothing then rescanned week later and sac was there and scanned again 2 weeks later and baby and heartbeat seen but was put back a week am now 17 weeks pregnant so it's totally normal xx

5 weeks is too early to scan they should have told you this when you booked. I had an NHS scan at 6 weeks due to bleeding and couldn't see anything externally and had to do an internal. Went back at 8 weeks and could see everything then including heart beat. Book another for in 2 weeks time

Definitely normal for that stage of pregnancy. I had a scan for possible ectopic at nearly 6!weeks & had a 9mm sac but nothing else. Went back a week later & there was a baby with a heartbeat. She's just turned 10 months old

I had a scan at 5+6 and there was only a yolk sac; no fetal pole. Went back ten days later and saw a little heartbeat. It was the longest ten days of my life!

Good luck, @Racoonworld - I hope you have the same experience 💐

5 weeks is so early! I think go back at 7 weeks or so and you'll get a definite answer

Thanks, this really helps hearing this may be normal. I had a call with my doctor today about something else and mentioned this and she also said what you are all saying that it is just very early to be seeing anything else and being able to see the yolk sac but nothing else at this stage is fairly normal. I will wait 10 -14 days for another scan and hopefully will see more then It's going to be a long wait though!

I'm really surprised a private place did a scan before at least 6 weeks. I had been told 7+ is the best timing. Best of luck hope if you are going back again that it's all progressing well.

I really hate to sound unsympathetic, but while understanding how terrible anxiety can be, going for scans at such an early stage, then planning to repeat in merely 10 or so days later, is really not a good idea.

Being pregnant can be nerve-wracking. We have all had moments of worry & fear of something being wrong. Parenthood is very similar. But you have to make your peace with that & trying time achieve certainty at such an early stage, when you've barely had a positive test is crazy. Sorry.

No it's not easy. I had a late MC with my first pregnancy, and a very traumatic & physically severe experience following that. When I got pregnant the next time I really was so anxious. But I just had to cope with it. I tried not to think about it, keep things normal & cross my fingers.

You really do have to try & relax a little & ease off on the scans. It's not ultimately going to help.

Best of luck with your pregnancy.

Different people cope in different ways, @EarringsandLipstick - personally, if a pregnancy isn't viable, I'd rather know as early as possible so I can choose medical management rather than waiting it out (potentially for weeks, if it's a missed miscarriage). Time can be of the essence too, if you're a bit older.

Agree that ultimately there's nothing you can do if a pregnancy isn't going to work out, though - worrying won't help - but I'd rather worry for ten days than twelve weeks.

Also I was super anxious in my 1st trimester. I got a private scan at 7 weeks and it made things loads better for me. You gotta do whats best for you!

I had an early internal scan on NHS due to side pain I was getting and suspected ectopic, I was 6 weeks. Same as you - sack and yolk sac but no baby or heartbeat.

My GP said it was absolutely normal so I didnt have another scan until my 12 weeks and just trusted everything was ok unless I had any further symptoms.
12 week scan showed healthy active baby with a strong heartbeat!
im 27+4 now. Try not to worry it is very normal not to see a baby yet, this is why they dont offer early scans as a given, it can cause more stress than good.

Good luck xx

How did you get on @Racoonworld? Hope all is okay

*@overanalyser1 * thanks for checking back on me! I had the follow up scan yesterday and got to see baby and heartbeat, measuring 7.5 weeks so a few days behind my lmp. Feeling reassured now, but will have another scan in a few weeks just to check all still going ok!

@Racoonworld I'm so happy to hear your scan was positive yesterday. I had exactly the same situation as you on Sunday (gestational sac visible measuring 5.5mm and yolk sac but not heartbeat). I was 6 weeks from LMP but my cycle ranges from 29-33 days so I have no clue when I ovulated. The sonography said I definitely wasn't 6 weeks. Didn't help that she had a terrible bedside manner and made me so anxious about everything. Another 10 days to wait for my scan. Really hope I get a positive outcome like you

@overanalyser1 i hope all goes well for your scan in a couple of weeks. It seems to be pretty normal not to see a baby at under 6 weeks, and a yolk sac is a positive sign. It was amazing what difference two weeks made, from being not visible at all to a clear 1.5cm with strong heartbeat!