Inconclusive scan - worried sick

[Roses23]

I had a private early scan a couple of days ago and was heartbroken when the sonographer said it was inconclusive — gestational sac and yolk sac visible but no foetal pole or heartbeat could be seen. At the time according to NHS calculations I should have been 6w+4 at the time. I believe we conceived around 21/8, which would be 5w tomorrow. The private scan wasn’t very helpful and was told to come back in another 2 weeks.

I contacted the early pregnancy unit who have booked me in for a scan on early next week as they didn’t want me to wait another two weeks.

I want this baby so much and I’m just nervous that it’s going to be bad news. I haven’t had any spotting, I have had other symptoms, light cramps which have stopped now and continuous positive hpt. Has anyone else experienced this and had a positive outcome?

How come the scan was so early? I had an early scan with this pregnancy as I miscarried at 7 weeks the month before, I didn’t book it until 8 weeks though to avoid being in a situation where there’s no heartbeat because I’m not far enough along, the place I went won’t even scan before 7 weeks anyway. Your dates could just be out causing you to worry for nothing. In my first pregnancy (which turned out fine) I had pain and bleeding around 6 weeks and went for a scan on the nhs due to worries over it being ectopic, I didn’t see a heartbeat as it was too early, returned 2 weeks later and all was fine. That’s partly why I avoided having a scan anything less than 8 weeks.

Sorry to hear about your mc and I hope this pregnancy is going well for you.

It’s my first pregnancy and I suffer quite badly with anxiety, so the private scan was to give me piece of mind... As they said it could be done from 6w (which by NHS dates I would have been more than) I was hoping that it would give me some reassurance until my later scans. I am hoping that it is just that it was too early to see anything. I think in hindsight I would have waited until I was around 8w too.

Everything is all so new to me and I’m the first one of my friends to fall, so I have no idea what’s normal and how everything works in these early stages. Google is playing with my emotions.

There is no good reason for a scan at 6 weeks. No wonder it's inconclusive

It doesn’t look great but if only 5 weeks then no baby would be seen I lost a baby couple months ago and pregnant now and I had a early scan private because I was worried I was 6 weeks could see baby and heart beating

Same thing happened to me. Taught me a huge lesson to not get a scan too early, I was about 5 weeks 4 days when I had the scan but thought I was around 7 weeks - I had my dates wrong. All was fine and fetal pole and heartbeat was seen 2 weeks later, I am now 21 weeks :) was the worst two weeks of my life filled with worry. It's really really common for this too happen this is why they don't recommend scans so early on. I'm sure all will be fine lovely xx

@Roses23 you just got a scan too early. Its inconclusive because it's too early not cause it's bad news. Fetal pole often cant be seen till week 6! Try again at week 9 or so?

I had an early scan at what I thought was 7 weeks (due to bleeding) and all they could see was an empty sac. Was told to rescan in two weeks. She is now a happy 2 year old. My dates were only a few days out it was just too early to see anything

That sounds normal I'm afraid OP. It's usually too early to see a heartbeat at 6w.

@StephenKong there most definitely are good reasons for scans at 6 weeks. One saved my life, as I was already in hospital when my ectopic pregnancy ruptured.

Roses DS1 didnt have a heartbeat around 6 and a half weeks (due to previous ectopic pregnancy, I got an NHS one). He's now 11years old. In a week, hopefully bean will have developed further, and you will get a heartbeat.

I hope the rest of your pregnancy goes smoothly, with minimal anxiety inducing things happening

I understand the anxiety but it sounds like a normal scan for your dates. Private medical companies exist to make money so they won't have your best interests as their number 1 priority. There is a reason why NHS won't normally do scans that early.

Good luck!

You normally can't see a heart beat until 7 weeks

It's just too early but I hope you can see how getting thr scan has actually made your anxiety worse! Something to think about because situations like this will come up many times through your pregnancy!
I really recommend speaking to your midwife about your anxiety, there are some brilliant services available to help support your mental health through pregnancy and post natally.

I had a bleed and my Dr asked me to come in for a scan. I thought I was 7 weeks but when I was scanned there was an empty sac measuring 5 weeks. The Dr said either i would miscarry or my dates were wrong. Turned out my dates were very off and I've since seen baby and heartbeat. I hope your next scan is good news x

@Roses23 I feel for you. It's so hard waiting - I've been there and also suffer from anxiety. It is really easy to be out with dates that early on - all it takes is for you to ovulate a bit late, implantation to be a bit slower than average and suddenly you're out by a week. There is nothing at all you can do to change the outcome at this stage and no conclusive information to be found until your next scan. The only thing you can try to do is manage your anxiety as best you can (remembering it's unrealistic to get it to go away entirely and almost every pregnant woman worries!) My advice, for what it's worth, is try to distract yourself - even if you can only manage a few minutes at a time.