Scan at 5 weeks

[Pam321]

Hi,
New to Mumsnet, seems like a really supportive positive place so far. 🙂
I am very early days pregnancy (4-5 weeks), and following a bit of bleeding I'm being sent to the hospital for a scan. I just wondered if anyone could tell me what to expect from a scan so early? I am assuming from a quick internet search that it will be internal? Obviously I didn't think to ask on the phone until I'd hung up....story of my life.
Thanks so much for any help. Trying to keep calm and chilled about everything - what will be will be and I know I need to trust my body to know best - but if I knew what to expect I think I'd feel a bit better equipped.

I'd say just don't expect to see more than what you'd have for a 4/5 week scan. You'll probably just see the dark sac and nothing else, which is still exciting and positive! Just don't go in thinking you'll see things like a heartbeat (which will appear suddenly at 6 weeks!). Good luck!! X

Hi! It will almost definitely be internal, but don't worry, it's not as bad as it might sound. Not as bad as a smear! I've had 2 at the 6-week stage. Unfortunately the first time was a chemical pregnancy, but the second time, I went due to one-sided pain (worried about ectopic pregnancy) and just needed to know that everything was where it should be. All was fine, and showed even a tiny heartbeat, so that was a bonus. Hope everything goes well for you, I know it's really stressful.

@cat709
@LaMadrilena
Thank you. Obviously most of my stress is around what they will (or won't) find - but I have no control over that so I at least wanted to know what was coming in terms of the scan itself.

It will be an internal scan. Your uterus will look grainy and the embryo will be a black spot. If you're 5 weeks you almost certainly won't see a heartbeat or fetal pole. Good luck xx

As others have said it will be internal scan. It’s not uncomfortable in the slightest though so don’t worry about that.

I was sent to the EPU for a reassurance scan after several miscarriages. I was only 5+5.

Even knowing how early I was they still insisted I arrive with a full bladder and starting out with an abdominal scan. It was awful. Even though I knew they wouldn’t see anything that way, it still petrified me when the sonographer said she couldn’t see anything. So I was sent off to empty my bladder and then they did the transvaginal scan.

Again I fully expected them to only see very minimal signs of a pregnancy but surprisingly we saw a tiny prawn shaped baby and a heartbeat.

As others have said though don’t be alarmed at all if you don’t see much other than a sac. If you’re nearer to 4 weeks than 5 then you may even only see that the lining of your uterus is thickening.

Good luck

@SocksForceFive
@Moominmiss
Thank you so much everyone, this is really helpful. xx🙂