Another one of these… Early scan dates?

[CupidStunt24]

Hiya,

Not sure what I’m expecting here, I know no one can tell me what’s happening or going to happen, I am just wondering if anyone can help me figure out where these dates are coming from…

I came off the pill mid-Dec, I didn’t have a period between then and finding out I was pregnant on 10th Jan on an early detection test. Because I have no LMP date, it’s a struggle to date it anyway, but we DTD 24th Dec and 27th Dec (and haven’t since). So I must have ovulated around one of those dates to have caught and gotten pregnant.

I went for an early scan today (I know, I’m a twat, wish I hadn’t bothered) expecting to be AROUND 8-9wks (rough conception date +2 weeks). I had told myself anything between 7-9 would be acceptable in my head. However, it’s measuring at 5w5d! However they did say that’s what they could measure as it’s so close to the uterine wall, but could guess a range between 6-7. BUT… and this is where I’m confused - it has a heartbeat. Surely if it had stopped developing at that gestation, 3wks ago, that heartbeat would have stopped by now? And if that is right; when I got that BFP on 10th Jan I wouldn’t have actually been pregnant at all!

I tried to ask all of these questions, and they were helpful, but they almost couldn’t understand why I was so concerned as they said it’s a viable uterine pregnancy with a fetal heartbeat! I’ve also been reading that a heartbeat is usually detectable from 6-7wks, so seems quite early to have picked one up, especially in something not developing? I asked if the heartbeat seemed slow or weak and they said not at all.

I have my booking appt on Friday, I now feel a bit of a fraud. I don’t know if I should mention this to the midwife or not? It was a private scan and I know NHS HCP aren’t too keen on them (I can totally see why). So I’m not really sure what to do.

I know there can be discrepancies between ovulation, sperm staying alive for a few days, later implantation etc… but 3 weeks difference? Surely not? Can anyone maybe help me see something I’m missing?

I had a heartbeat with my boy at 6w+3 so I don't think it's too early for it. They offer early scans from 6 weeks x

Thank you @Diamondbabe! I know they say to make sure you’re at least 6wks so they can be sure to be as accurate as possible with measurements/heartbeat etc. i just thought that if I was truly only measuring 5w5d, something is definitely wrong and in which case would there still be a HB!?

Was it an internal scan? It could be error (size difference at that gestation is in mm - error more likely if it was on the tummy scan only), could be a pregnancy that won't work out (slow growth). I'd mention it to the NHS and they would hopefully offer another scan in a few weeks to work it out

5+5 puts you roughly around conception of like 3rd Jan- with a leeway of +/- 5days puts you around the 29th ish so it's very possible you conceived from the 27th but with ovulation time and implantation time that would date baby about right!

Does that make sense? Lol chances are you're over 6 weeks if you saw heartbeat and measurements could be off!

My first scan I had with this pregnancy they couldn't even measure as was tiny but it had a heartbeat, next scan 2 weeks later, I was supposed to be 8 weeks exactly by period dates and baby measured 8 weeks and 3 days! Scan I had Thursday was meant to be 9 weeks exactly and baby still measured 3 days ahead at 9 week and 3 days!

These babies do their own thing! Haha might be worth asking GP to refer you to your early pregnancy unit and see if they will rescan you in 2 weeks so you know when to have your 12 week scan?

I had a scan at 5+5 ish and there was no heartbeat - expected as it was a scan to check position. Went back a week later to check the heartbeat had started. I'd guess you're over 6 weeks and the measurement is out.

Iv had a scan one at 5w2d and had a heart beat my baby was 2mm big! He thinks it’s great now I have a picture of him when he was 2mm big lol. Also I had an issue with my next child I had a scan at 5w3d, they couldn’t see much but said I had to go back in 2 weeks, which would put me at 7w2d which was all adding in with my dates, I went back it was a different person who scanned me and she said yup all looks good I can see a heart beat and it’s all in the right place and she showed me and she said your 5w6d I said no I’m 7 weeks and she didn’t seam too bothered and said well I have to sign you off because there has been growth from your last scan and there is a heart beat. So I was left so confused as to why my baby had grown 3 days in 2 weeks. I booked a private scan for 1 week later and I would be 8 weeks at this point and I go and get measured 8 weeks….

I won’t bore you with all the ins and outs but later we found out things hasn’t developed properly and mainly the heart which is fully developed by week 8, so during these 2-3 weeks when my baby seamed to not grow something had went wrong. They found this extremely interesting that I mentioned all of this after we found out about the heart but we never found out why it happened.

Not saying that is what will happen to you. Perhaps your baby was not lying sideways so they couldn’t measure baby the best ways

Thank you everyone! I know that everyone’s situation is so unique and everyone’s pregnancy is different, no one experience if going to be the same as the other and I know my outcome won’t necessarily reflect anyone else’s! My gut is saying something has gone wrong, the dates are too far put in my opinion, it’s just thrown me that there is a heartbeat there. I could understand a bit more if they said it’s 5w5d and no heartbeat, I would know for sure that it had probably just stopped developing then and that was that. Just not really sure how the heart is still beating away if development stopped around 3wks ago.

Thank you for sharing your experiences xxx

@TheDaydreamBelievers yes it was internal, so there less room for error I imagine

Will speak to the midwife on Friday. I feel a little bit as though it’s been “brushed under” because it has a heartbeat. I know there is nothing anyone can do, it’s something only time will tell. But why does time seem to stop still in times like this. Feeling very flat and empty this morning!

@EllieJai44, just thinking about what you’ve said regarding the conception date. That does make sense, but doesn’t the 2 weeks need to be added on for when you were “supposed” to have had your last period? I have torn myself to pieces trying to figure things out but because I didn’t have a period between coming off the pill and finding out I was pregnant, does that make it irrelevant about suspected LMP date?

@CupidStunt24 not necessarily, but when it's so tiny measurements can be way off, like I said with mine, the first scan I should have been 6 weeks and they couldn't measure it as was so small but had a heartbeat so they said 6 weeks at most as a guess but not by measurements- fast forward two weeks exactly and baby ended up measuring 3 days ahead of dates!! They grow crazy sometimes!!

I think you'd be worth if you can afford it to get another private scan, maybe this weekend or next week in the week? Then you'll know for sure if there has been progress!

@EllieJai44 thank you - I don’t really know what to do, I have my midwife appt over the phone on Friday, I suppose I could have a chat with her. I’m leaning towards just waiting and seeing, it’s making me feel quite ill all of this. They dates are just SO out, I think I’m clutching at straws thinking the extra 2 weeks don’t really count, trying to make it all fit to be ok think I just need to face facts. Thank you

Just to clarify one of your comments "Just not really sure how the heart is still beating away if development stopped around 3wks ago" - the dating is just based on size. So they are saying it's the size of a 5w 5d embryo. That would either mean the pregnancy is only 5w 5d in if all was going fine or it means that a pregnancy that is 7-9 weeks along is growing v slowly/behind its growth curve. Which unfortunately means that it's less likely to be viable. If you saw a 5w5d fetus at your scan that didn't have a heartbeat then that would have been an embryo that stopped growing at 5w5d. Yours will likely have been growing but slower than it's meant to

Thank you @TheDaydreamBelievers! I don’t think with my dates there’s any chance it can be a healthy 5w5d pregnancy. The only way that fits, it’s to take away the two weeks added on for LMP (which I didn’t have) so I’m not holding out much hope. I think there is going to have to have been a very late ovulation, a very late implantation, an almost instant positive pregnancy test and a major f**k up on the sonongraphers part with the measurements for this to work out!

But thank you for your replies x

Just to update thread for anyone ever searching a similar situation, I had a missed miscarriage and an MVA on Monday. Turns out whatever it was seen at the first scan was definitely not an embryo with a heartbeat, as it ended up just being an empty sac, which had grown in proportion to my gestation (and was still growing), but no baby. Lesson learnt about private scans…