A 5mm pregnancy sac at 6 weeks is impossible, right?

[TheBirdintheCave]

Wondering if there are any sonographers on here who might be able to help me out or people who have had similar stories.

Basically, I’m supposed to be 7 weeks pregnant and had a scan at the EPU yesterday because of some brown spotting. All seemed fine with the bleeding. The sonographer couldn’t find a uterine cause for it, there was no bleeding around the pregnancy sac, my ovaries or anywhere else.

This was the only good news.

She then described what she could see. She said there was a pregnancy sac present with a yolk sac inside and ‘maybe the beginnings of an embryo’. She then mentioned that the pregnancy sac only measured 5mm.

The next piece of info I got was that I did not ovulate from the side I thought I did which blew my ovulation date out of the water (as I went by a sharp pain in my right-hand side, when apparently I ovulated from my left as that’s where the corpeus luteum is)

Based on this and the last time we had sex, I told her that I could be as early as 6 weeks and she seemed to suggest that these measurements were consistent with that date. She prescribed me some progesterone pessaries and told me to come back for another scan in two weeks.

When I got home I searched for 5mm pregnancy sac and was able to ascertain in about three clicks on Google that this was not an ok measurement for 6 weeks.

The only caveat to this is that I have a tilted uterus and know that this makes it harder to take accurate measurements even with a transvaginal scan. My son was measuring as a week behind at a seven week scan (though we saw him and his heartbeat) but had ‘caught up’ by his 12 week scan.

In my mind there are two options here. The first and most logical:

The pregnancy stopped progressing at five weeks.

Or:

I am six weeks pregnant and the measurements were just wonky. This theory does get bonus points for making sense of my scant pregnancy symptoms (My nausea has been barely there but has felt worse over the last few days. Though on a bad note, my breasts were sore but aren’t really anymore since yesterday). It would also explain why I had an extremely faint positive test at what I thought was 14dpo but could actually have been 9dpo.

She asked me to go back in two weeks for another scan which again I agreed to but now it just seems like a waste of two weeks that I could have spent getting my cycle back and preparing to try again. At 35 I really can't afford to waste a month or more. We also have male factor fertility issues so it’s highly unlikely for us to get pregnant at the best of times. This one was another miracle in our eyes.

What should I do? I don’t know whether to bother with the pessaries. Will they delay the miscarriage or will it happen regardless? I’m afraid they’re going to give me fake symptoms and I might be tricked into thinking it’s all ok. I just wanted a definitive answer but came out with a different problem altogether ☹

Why has she given me hope in an obviously hopeless situation? It just seems extremely cruel.

I'm so sorry you're going through this .
I think it helps to be realistic to avoid getting your hopes up unnecessarily- I recently went through a similar, painstaking experience where I was ultimately told I had miscarried my twins- but you shouldn't count yourself out until you know for sure. So I'd say cautious optimism is a good middle ground until your next scan when you hopefully have better answers. The fact she saw a yolk sac is encouraging, I hope you end up with a happy outcome OP xx

A bit unfair to say she gave you false hope...
She is doing her job. A miscarriage can only be diagnosed with scans 2 weeks apart showing no progress.
There is no way to say for sure when you ovulate so no way to say for sure how far along you truly are.
This could just be the start of a pregnancy.
Just like it could be an early miscarriage. But again she can't say something is happening when she doesnt know. Would be highly unprofessional.
She gave you progesterone to give your pregnancy the best chance if it is indeed earlier than you think.

I think it's your choice wether you give it a go or not ofc...

@GirlMama21 So sorry you had to go through that :( xx

@SunnySideUp2020 I know she can only go by what she sees but in everything I've read a 5mm sac at 6 weeks is bad news, I just feel like she didn't address the abnormality of that and try to prepare me for the worst. I think I'm more angry at myself than her as I didn't do all the maths there and then.

We last had sex on the 10th of February and sperm can only last up to five days. The latest I could have ovulated is the 14th (CD 21) based on that fact which would make me 6 weeks and no earlier. It's just not biologically possible to be earlier than that unfortunately :(

I'm really sorry you're going through this. It's the most brutal mind game.

I don't think she's given you false hope or not 'prepared you.'

She can't prepare you for something she has no answers for (yet.)
If she did say she didn't think youd had a chance with this pregnancy and then went for the next scan and all was fine, she would probably get a little of slack for being negative etc. i don't think she's been cruel at all and she's given you the best advice she can with a tilted womb / what she could see.

The progesterone she has given you is to give this pregnancy the best chance. Surely any mother would want any pregnancy to have a fighting chance of survival so she's done the right thing and covered all basis.

I'm so sorry you're going through this, it's so hard and I wish you all the best. Hopefully your next scan you'll get the answers your looking for. Best of luck for a happy healthy pregnancy x

@JuneBug94 Thanks, I'm just so done with it all now and really want it to be over so I can start again. I've emailed the hospital midwives to see if I can get something to speed the miscarriage up instead of having to wait two weeks before the process starts. I wish I'd just asked about that at the time x__x I just didn't get long enough to actually think it through.

[quote TheBirdintheCave]@JuneBug94 Thanks, I'm just so done with it all now and really want it to be over so I can start again. I've emailed the hospital midwives to see if I can get something to speed the miscarriage up instead of having to wait two weeks before the process starts. I wish I'd just asked about that at the time x__x I just didn't get long enough to actually think it through.[/quote]
Hi OP,

I think that is the absolute wrong thing to do! Like others have said, you don't know at this point that you are going to or have miscarried. I have read so many stories on here where ladies have gone for scans and been so sure they are going to miscarry then have gone back 2 weeks later and seen a healthy heartbeat.

I think if you're desperate to know then book a private scan for a weeks time to see if there is any progression but asking for medication/advice on how to speed up a miscarriage would be the absolute wrong decision

@Tinadecember There's just no mathematical way to make the dates work out correctly so I can't really assume any other outcome.

I thought about booking a private scan next week but we've just spent £600 on getting our car fixed so I'm not sure we can afford another £70 :/ I wish she'd said to come back in one week instead of two.

I think as pp have said you need to find some patience to see what happens the next two weeks. I'm sure you know this anyway but the reason why they cannot confirm a miscarriage on the first scan is because certainty usually only arises when a second scan is performed during which times the pregnancy has had a chance to progress (or sadly sometimes not).

Contacting the midwife will not help as nothing can be done to speed up the process.

If I were you I'd take the prescribed medication and stay away from making my own calculations from Dr. Google.

I say all of this knowing full well how hard the waiting game can be, I've been in your position 3 times.

@LASandOtto I'm so sorry you've had to go through this as well :( It truly is torture. Did you ever know your dates were right yet get a good outcome?

I'm sorry everyone. I know I must sound crazy but I'm just so miserable about the whole thing. This pregnancy was very much wanted and I was so thankful we wouldn't have to go through our infertility journey again. I am broken and will now have to face my friend and sister-in-law (a week ahead and a week behind) happily going through their pregnancies and being constantly reminded about what I've lost :(

I was told at my scans that the measurements you see online are only a guideline. In two weeks your baby could be after catching up to where they should be or they could even be ahead. At 8 weeks my baby was a week behind but by 12 weeks they were 3 days ahead.

@TheBirdintheCave I am sorry, it really is difficult.

I always found the sonographers I encountered as very upfront about the situation they saw.

I had two occasions (one which was a very drawn out process with 3 scans over 6 weeks) where unfortunately the end wasn't a good outcome.

And once it's been all fine eventually.

I know you're probably assuming the worst case scenario to protect your feelings, please do try the progesterone and perhaps see if you can claw together the money for a private scan in a weeks time.

@romdowa My own son measured a week behind too but with him we saw an embryo and a heartbeat at this point. With this one there is just something that could be the beginning of an embryo :(

@LASandOtto I'm so glad you had one good outcome though am very sorry about the other two :(

I will still take the progesterone but I don't think it will do any good.

@TheBirdintheCave . I understand the anxiety and worry you are feeling but please don't make any fast decisions out of anxiety. Take the progesterone. There is a chance that this could be an impending miscarriage but also the chance it could be a viable pregnancy so please give it every chance that it may be surprising news for you. You're only 35. 2 weeks is not going to make a difference. You've got time. I know the next 2 weeks are going to be so tough. Speak to your GP or a EPU explaining the effect this is taking on your mental health and ask if they can do the scan in a weeks time instead of 2. Unfortunately I know how agonising that wait is but thankfully it is behind me now.
I really hope you get a good outcome.

@Raindrops2015 There really is zero chance. As I explained the numbers just don't work at all. If there was a chance at all, say if the sac measured 12mm then I'd probably have a 50/50 chance but it doesn't so I have to be realistic and just want it over with as soon as possible. With our fertility history there's a real chance we won't ever get pregnant again and I've only got until 36 as I've never wanted to be an old parent. I can't lose anymore time. Having a 13 year old at 50 just doesn't appeal to me.

It sounds like you need to decide that it’s already over as a means of coping.
Perhaps you could use the medication and follow all the advice just to prove that nothing could have helped?

I understand your anguish OP, but you need to try
to reign in your emotions otherwise you will be in bits before you even get to your next scan and given your pregnancy may still be viable, that stress isn't healthy for you or your baby.

The professionals cannot tell you a pregnancy has failed until they are absolutely sure. If it makes you feel better about waiting two weeks, I was first told I might be miscarrying my twins on the 16th of January this year, but didn't get the final confirmation until 9th of February (last month), after which I had surgical management a few days later. The scans in between the first one and the last one which confirmed the miscarriage were agony, but each time they could not say with enough certainty that the pregnancy was failing and they actually had to give the pregnancy time to grow so to speak, to either confirm the worst or otherwise. I appreciated this as I knew I would have surgical management in the worst case scenario and didn't want to take that step without 100% certainty the pregnancy had failed.

So try to go easy on yourself and to distract yourself. You say you have a son, maybe try to focus just on him until your scan? My two girls were definitely a comfort for me during those terrible waits between scans.

I understand losing a much longed for pregnancy- we lost a baby in May 2021 and when we got the BFP in December we thought it would be our rainbow, but we lost those too- but in your case you are almost mourning something that might not happen; give your little one a chance OP, while also accepting it is possible it might not end up being the outcome you wish for.

You say there is "zero chance", but I have seen posts on here where ladies said this about being 2 weeks behind what they thought was possible in terms of their dates, only to go on and have a healthy baby. Some of us didn't have that happy ending in similar circumstances so it really is too early to call.

You are not too old at 35 OP- stop being so negative and hard on yourself ❤.

I’m hopefully going to arrange a meeting with the EPU on Friday as they said they want to answer my questions but can’t do it by email. I will present my case for getting the medication and see what they say. In the mean time I’ll use the pessaries as prescribed.

I just can’t get over that sac measurement. It’s way, way too small.

Hi OP, I went for a private scan when I thought I was 7 weeks, I was only 5w3d and saw no heartbeat. I'm fairly sure my measurement was 7mm, so not massively far off yours - none of this is an exact science. Anyway I went to my 12 weeks scan, only measured 10 weeks, and then suddenly 2 weeks later we'd caught up and overtaken. Baby due next week.

Please don't give up, you'll always wonder what might have happened if you took the progesterone.

Please don’t rush off and take those pills this may well be a viable pregnancy and the quickest way to know this is to have your hcg tested two days apart to make sure it’s doubling. If it’s not doing what it should be the doctor can tell you that from the readings. Or you could arrange a private scan for a few days time. I had a scan at 6 weeks exactly and my sac was empty it was 1.62cm but I was told blighted ovum and it wasn’t I went back a week later and there was my yolk and baby. Don’t write it off yet I can’t believe they even gave you those tablets after 1 scan

@WutheringCripes Did you mean your embryo measured 7mm or the sac? I don’t actually have an embryo yet :( For me it’s the sac that measures 5mm which is why this is so bad.

@Nikki037297 All I’ve been given is progesterone which I’ve taken as prescribed so far.

I’ve begged for blood tests all throughout this pregnancy and NO ONE will give me them. It’s the most frustrating thing. Midwives, EPU and GP have all said no.

I’m pleased you had a good outcome but your sac was three times the size of mine :( This is why I keep insisting that mine cannot possibly be viable. I’ll ask for blood tests again on Friday.

@thebirdinthecave Yes, it was just the sac - a unidentifiable blob to my eye!

Just hold on 💐

I don't know if this is relevant in your case, but when my mum was pregnant with my sibling, she had what they called a 'hibernating pregnancy' - the size at the 12 week scan didn't match what they were seeing; he was far smaller than he ought to have been. They said that it's rare, but it happens. You never know, maybe this is the case with you?

I hope everything works out for you, it must be such a stressful situation... I think I'd drive myself mad waiting. x

That’s quite annoying that they won’t do the bloods for you. Iv had mine done at EPAC before every other day when I had my ectopic. Surly it would be much quicker for them too rather than the waiting around for 2 full weeks when you really need to know now. Any chance because I’d your tilted uterus that the sac was maybe sideways and it’s given them a very bad measurement as they were not looking at it straight on

@WutheringCripes Wow! Ok that’s maybe promising? I doubt things like that happen often though I’m glad it did for you :)

@CaringUncleMinpinct That sounds like a scary experience for your family! :O And yeah it’s only been a day and I think I’ve read half of the internet 😂