Measuring behind on early scan

[Popsicales]

Hi

i should be 7+2 and I had a positive ovulation test on 6th January and a positive pregnancy test at 9dpo.

I had an early scan at what should have been 6 weeks but only the gestational sac and yolk sac could be seen and they measured me at 5+3. I wasn’t that worried at this point. They invited be back for a re-scan in 14 days.

I was getting really anxious waiting for the rescan so had another early scan at what should have been 7+2 at a different place and I measured 6 weeks exactly with a heart beat seen.

I’m really worried because there’s no way I could only be 6 weeks as by these dates, when conception was happening I’d have been getting a positive test! I have my free re-scan at the original place at the weekend and I’m just hoping that by their measurements, I’ve made the right amount of growth.

has anyone been in this position?

An ovulation test only gives a heads up that ovulation may happen in the next 12-48 hours. Then there's when implantation actually took place take into account, as well as every place measuring slightly differently and at this tiny size, a millimetre difference in measurement can make a difference of days. I would say it's good news you can see a heartbeat at this stage and I hope you have further good news at the weekend.

Pregnancy progress jumps around a lot when you’re so early which is why they wait till 12 weeks to get an accurate date and growth

I had two early scans due to bleeds and my dates jumped around a lot then and even when I had my 12 week scan , it was different to what I was told previously

Thank you. I have my fingers crossed for my scan at the weekend that good progression is seen. Early pregnancy is such an anxious time!

I have had the same except last week I was 6+3 and only gestational sac was there dated 4 weeks-ish. Had scan today at 7+3 and yolk sac now visible and dated 5+4. I am going back next week to see if a fetal pole has developed, but there's no way I could be 2 weeks behind as was tracking ovulation and tested positive at 10dpo.

@UrsulaSings123 sorry to hear you’re in the same position. I hate the not knowing 😣

when is your next scan?

My next scan is on Tuesday. I actually feel a lot more accepting of the situation thus week, whichever way it goes.

I think the fact you've seen a fetal pole with a heartbeat is a really good sign.

@Popsicales I had an early scan at 7+2 due to previous losses. Baby measured 6+2 with heartbeat. Not quite the same as you as I hadn't tracked ovulation that month however, baby stayed on that trajectory, a week behind dates throughout those early weeks. Official dating scan moved me on a couple of days compared to the EPU scanner but not in line with LMP dates. I'm now 14+2 and Baby is looking perfect. As previous posters have said, there is definitely a margin of error with these early scans. Consistent development and heartbeat starting are good signs. 🙏🏼

I’ve had another scan today. Heart beat seen again but still measuring 6 weeks. So that means 4 days growth in 2 weeks. Still feel in limbo

Hi @Popsicales and @UrsulaSings123 please feel free not to reply, but I was just wondering how you're both doing?

I've just found myself in the same situation and I'm having a very difficult time coming to terms with what it likely means. I went for a reassurance scan at 6+4 after some strong pain and disappearance of symptoms and they measured me at 5+3. I too know exactly what day I ovulated and had a positive from 11DPO. At absolute best, I'd have been 6+1. There was a yolk sac but no embryo.

In my mind, I already know what having no symptoms and being so behind mean. I had a loss in January too. I guess I'm just grasping at straws.

Wishing you well ❤️

I'm so sorry to hear you're going through this. It's such an awful experience. I ended up having to go for 4 scans over 3 weeks before they confirmed it was a missed miscarriage. I chose the surgical option and am booked in this Wednesday.

I felt like I became an expert in early pregnancy I did that much googling about everything. In the end I think it really can go either way. There were lots of stories I saw where it actually turned out ok. One in particular I remember a woman saying that her first pregnancy she saw a fetal pole and heartbeat at 6 weeks, but with her following 2 (successful pregnancies) they were just "black holes" at 6 weeks with not even a fetal pole. That one in particular really reassured me. I read many stories from people who'd had IVF where they know exactly the date they had a transfer and even they were measuring a week behind and had successful pregnancies, with some of them saying they always measured a week behind and others saying they'd caught up at the 12 week scan.

I know its such an anxiety inducing experience. I really, really hope that it all works out well. Please do let us know.

Sending you a hand hold at this awful time.

Thank you so much for your kind response, @UrsulaSings123. I am so, so sorry you've had to go through this, my heart is just broken for you. I'm really grateful for your honesty around it because the place I had my private scan tried to be so upbeat and I think we all just know, deep down, when something isn't right sometimes.

I tried to explain over and over about my ovulation date, but they glossed over it every time and insisted we needed to stay positive and just go back in two weeks. At the same time, they told me I needed to call my local EPU the next morning to talk it over with them. How on earth anyone is supposed to wait two weeks I'll never know. I'm going out of my mind. Like you, I feel I've tried to overturn just about every post or web page dedicated to this subject and I just can't see any positive outcome for me. I've had no symptoms this entire time and I'm 7 weeks today.

I'm lucky that the lady at EPU agreed to book me in for a week's time, so I'll know next Thursday. I'll pop back and let you know how it goes. Thank you so much again for the hand hold and for being so kind ❤️

@KittyFantastica unfortunately for me, it didn’t end well but I expected this. I knew my ovulation date and tested positive at 9dpo. I knew I couldn’t possibly be wrong about my dates by more than a day or two.

I had 4 private scans in a 2 week period and struggled with feeling in ‘limbo’ and also struggled with people saying ‘I’m sure you’re fine baby is just really small’.
At my last private scan, I was referred to the EPU as the heart beat was irregular and still no growth. I had terrible vomiting and nausea.

At the EPU they could see the very slow heart beat but also some cystic spaces and said it looked like it could be a partial molar pregnancy. I had surgical management a few days ago at what should have been 9.5 weeks and unfortunately still struggling with morning sickness, which is awful! None of the private scans picked up the molar pregnancy/cystic spaces. I’m now just waiting for histology to confirm whether it was a molar pregnancy and if it was (I think it was!), I will be monitored by a specialist hospital in Sheffield to make sure my levels come down. If my levels don’t come down, it will be chemotherapy but this is apparently quite rare.

The surgical management was ok - bleeding and pain was just like a heavy period but unfortunately I didn’t have a great reaction to the GA but I think this happened because I already had a cold and sore throat when going in for surgery and is probably just specific to me (I’ve never had GA before this).

it’s only hitting me emotionally now all the physical parts have been taken care of if that makes sense. I feel quite sad and depressed.

So sorry to hear this ladies, I wish I could hug you all. I had this with my first three pregnancies. Each one there was a different type of bad news; no heartbeat, no growth between scans, no yolk, no fetal pole. Then with my pregnancy with my son, the difference between a 6 week and 8 week scan was huge, I just knew that one was meant to be.

i hope you all get your rainbows soon 🌈 xx

I'm so incredibly sorry this is happening to you @Popsicales, I so badly wish things were different. It is so cruel and unfair people are forced to find the strength to go through this when the worst is happening.

Thank you so much for your honest and detailed reply. I wish there was something I could say to help make things even the tiniest bit better. I really appreciate your time in explaining your experience, and I wish you a swift recovery ❤️. I hope you have lots of support and that your EPU have provided you with some resources for managing this. I'm not surprised you feel so sad, I just wish we could do something. Please take care.

Hi all,

@UrsulaSings123 I promised I'd come and update. I just had my scan. I should be 7+2 today going by ovulation. It was a massive shock, but they saw an embryo with a heartbeat. It's measuring 5+6 and with a relatively slow hb of 106, so while they were pleased to confirm it's actually not a blighted ovum as expected, it's not out of the woods.

I've no idea what would cause growth to be so slow, but it can't be good. At the moment, we're trying not to hope too much. One day at a time. I'm booking in for another scan in two weeks time and we'll see what happens.

Wishing you all as well as can be ❤️

Thank you for letting us know. I know it was always frustrating before reading threads and not knowing the outcome.

I was shocked when they said they saw a fetal pole at my 3rd scan, but it only grew 0.9mm in a whole week, which is when they called it. As far as I know it never developed a heartbeat, but that was over a week ago so I don't know about now. I'm actually in hospital today having 'surgical management' as despite bleeding and pain the pregnancy hasn't passed. Apparently 80% of pregnancies that fail in the first 12 weeks is due to chromosomal problems, so I'm trying to take the tac that at least it happened now rather than at the 20 week scan.

Good luck, I really hope it turns out well for you.

Hi all, hope you're all doing okay.

Only a quick update from me before I leave for a while. Unfortunately, we had confirmation this morning that baby stopped growing last week. I'm booked in for a D&C on Friday.

Wishing you all the best with your journeys, whatever they entail.

I'm so sorry to hear this, and I hope your procedure goes as well as it can. This only happened to me a few weeks ago but already I'm feeling much better. Sending you a hand hold. There's a thread in the miscarriage section of this site that has been really supportive and helpful for me if you wanted to reach out to those who have been in your shoes.