Early scan

[StaceyW87]

Hi 😁
I've recently found out I'm pregnant (5 weeks) but previously I've had a painful ectopic (5 years ago) and also a miscarriage after that... I would like an early scan for peace of mind. Can you really see a baby from 6 weeks? Or should I wait until a bit later? Also over lockdown I've put on a bit of chub 🤣 so I'm hoping they'll be able to see under my chubby mum tum lol (I also have a 7yo).
Thanks in advance x

I had a scan at 6 weeks, it was an internal scan as opposed to the normal ultrasound (sounds more horrific than it is!) the baby was tiny! They told me he roughly the size of the white of a fingernail! I had the scan as I was having a lot of vomiting - turns out I just had hypermesis but the hospital where I was staying at the time were very good with trying to rule out the worst. Maybe speak to your midwife/gp about your concerns and see what they suggest? If you have symptoms of an ectopic I would get straight down to the hosp in the meantime xx

A scan at 6 weeks would be a transvaginal one, so any chub won't make a difference. You probably won't be able to see a heartbeat and maybe not even a fetal pole depending on how far along you are/when you actually ovulated, but you should be able to tell if it's ectopic or not. I had one at the same time and just saw the sac, then went back a few weeks later and saw a tiny baby with a tiny heartbeat.

Congratulations!

Also congratulations! Hope the pregnancy goes well for you xx

I had one at 7+4 and it was more like a blob but could definitely see it and hear heartbeat and its good to know everything is in the right place etc. I would just maybe wait till nearer the 8 weeks as sometimes you cant hear heartbeat at 6 and if you measure few days behind like I did might not reassure you as much as too early xxx

I had a trans vaginal one at 7+2 after ivf. Baby was like a blob but you could see the heartbeat. Incredible

Thanks guys, I will probably wait til 7-8 weeks just to be sure x

I would honestly wait until 8 weeks if you can.

All it takes is for you to have ovulated a bit later and for your dates to be a bit out and it'll cause a lot of avoidable worry. I went for an early scan at 7+5 (from LMP) but baby only measured 6+1 so I then had a 2 week panic until I could go for a rescan and see if she was growing OK (baby measured 8+2 on the second scan so all was absolutely fine thankfully).

Comparing the second scan to the first, it was much better.....there was more to see and the baby was more of a familiar shape than just a tiny blob on the screen. Plus, your chance of MC goes down a lot if you see a heartbeat after 8 weeks.

If I'd gone when i thought I was 6 weeks or 7 weeks, there'd have been nothing to see at all.

Contrary to the above, scans at 6 weeks are not immediately internal.

I had a scan at 4,5,6&7weeks.

At 4 weeks, it was simply a blob that the sonographer couldn’t say was a baby or not
At 5 weeks, a more pronounced blob that was definitely a baby
At 6 weeks, a bigger blob but heard a clear heartbeat which was fabulous
At 7 weeks, a tiny weeny baby shaped figure and heart beat

Forgot to say, every scan I had at those early stages was external

It sounds like it varies from trust to trust.

My first scan was transvaginal but the second one, where baby measured 8+2, was abdominal.

I know some areas do transvaginal right up to 10 weeks.

In pre-Covid times you would usually get an NHS scan at 6 weeks if you’ve had a previous ectopic to rule out another. Might be worth giving your local early pregnancy unit a call to see what’s happening at the moment

@OP I'm currently 4w + 4d pregnant and had an ectopic miscarriage a few years ago. I called the GP today and have a phone appt for Wednesday to discuss an early scan to rule out ectopic. I think you need an appt now for the early pregnancy clinic rather than just first come first serve waiting (I'm in Bristol)

I'm now currently bleeding a little :-(
Only a touch but I'm not feeling hopeful.
Anybody had bleeding at 5 weeks and it all turned out ok? X

What colour is the blood? A lot of people have bleeding in the first trimester, I had it at 5, 7 weeks. Is it red or brown?

It's not bright red, it's stopped a bit now... I have mild period like pains but only mildly x