Early scan showing week behind digital pregnancy test

[Nametobechanged]

I had a private scan this afternoon. According to my LMP I should be 8 weeks and 1 day but I was expecting it to be nearer 7 weeks 3/4 days due to late ovulation.

On 12th July I did a digital test which said I was 3+ weeks post ovulation (ie 5+ weeks in real terms)

My scan today showed a clear heart beat but the radiographer dated the pregnancy at just 6 weeks and 1 day.

This is obviously at best a week behind where I expected to be per the pregnancy test and my LMP.

If I was only 6 weeks and 1 day I’d have been getting positive pregnancy tests before I even ovulated.

I assume this pregnancy isn’t going well. The radiographer kept insisting it was a healthy pregnancy but I don’t think she was grasping how out the dates were.

What can I expect to happen now? I’m due to go away on August 6th and, as cold as it sounds, if the pregnancy isn’t healthy I’d rather have things sorted before I go away. Should I contact the EPAU? At what point will they determine a miscarriage?

Thanks

If there was a heartbeat you can’t say for certain your miscarrying, you may have ovulated a couple of days later and maybe you’ve just taken a little longer to get going. Remember the weeks gestation measurements are an average and people will fall behind and ahead of those… don’t give up just yet x

I was surprised with my first that they dated me almost two weeks later the my dates said. I don't think they are that accurate early on. The pregnancy was fine and have a healthy DD so I wouldn't assume it will lead to a miscarriage.

I think you're wise to wonder about it and there's just no way of knowing,
It might be a sign things aren't developing, or it might all be fine, measurements can be out,

Hope for the best and prepare for the worse

In my case sadly it did mean things weren't developing properly. There was a heartbeat but I was measuring behind where I knew I must be.

But I remember at the time reading lots of positive stories where people had that and it turned out ok

Had you done a pregnancy test when your period was due? According to these dates I got a very faint positive at the point I would have ovulated.

It can be very hard to measure accurately in the early days. I had a scan at 7+3 and measured as 6+5. Baby was completely matching my dates at my 12 week scan.

Was the scan internal or external? That can make a difference to how accurate it is

What exactly would you want the EPU to do? I can't see them offering you treatment if there is a heartbeat. You could of course choose to terminate yourself, but do you think that is something you could do to a (presumably) wanted foetus with a heartbeat? If you could, then you would go down the termination route rather than the EPU route. But I personally would just hold on for the chance the scan measurements were wrong, especially since it was a private scan.

It’s a possibility of course but it could be the scan is slightly out. With my first it was nearly two weeks out (no Google and no experience of pregnancy so it didn’t occur to me to be concerned!) all fine by second scan.

How do you know when you ovulated? That's probably what's wrong.

OP I was in the same boat end of last year. According to dates when I got a positive pregnancy test I should have been on my period. We also saw a heart beat and was dates 6 weeks. I also knew we didn’t have sex when to conceive when we did…the facts didn’t add up.

I don’t have a positive outcome, we had another scan 2 weeks later (I should have been 10 weeks but 8 according to their measurements). And there was no heart beat or growth. The baby had died not long after our first scan.

Also to add EPAU won’t do anything without two scans two weeks apart to be extra sure. So there’s nothing they will do before you go away on holiday and they don’t count private scans

Scans are much more accurate than those tests. The tests are always a bit iffy in their accuracy, it's why if a doctor wants to know your hCG level they will use a blood test rather than a urine test.

Seeing a heartbeat is a very very good sign.

You could ask your GP if they would order a hCG doubling test (or try to find a private clinic which will offer this) but I expect that the NHS won't do it based on your use of a digital pregnancy test plus a private scan where everything seemed healthy, as it's not enough of an indicator for them that something could be wrong. NHS don't scan routinely at 6 weeks unless you have a history of early miscarriage.

I'm sorry because I do know how hard it is to wait and worry and be in limbo. The thing is unless you're actually having miscarriage symptoms e.g. cramps, bleeding, worrying discharge - there is nothing that the NHS will do. You need to wait for your dating scan at 10/12 weeks. Try to distract yourself until then.

I’ve asked my GP for a referral to the EPAU. Based on reading stories like a PP’s on this thread, I expect the pregnancy to end soon but that a miscarriage won’t be immediate. They seem to hold on for a little bit even after the heart has stopped. I don’t want to carry on, feeling pregnant when I’m not.

Oh gosh, I feel this so much OP. With one of my pregnancies I had the same thing happen. I think contrary to what most posters are saying, the scanning is more accurate in dating now than in later pregnancy. In my case, being told at the initial scan I was 6+3 was incompatible with the timing of the positive pregnancy test. In my case, the pregnancy wasn’t successful. I had another scan a week later, and there was still a heartbeat but not 7 days worth of growth. It was a similar story a week later. It was an agonising wait. I was seeing a private obstetrician (I’m in Australia) and our only private hospital is catholic, so I had to wait until the heartbeat stopped to have a d&c. It was about another week. At that stage it had dragged on so long that I chose a surgical rather than medical option. I didn’t want to risk the tablets not doing the job properly.

I’m sorry you are possibly going through this, it really sucked

I’ve been through it before but also as an expat overseas with private health cover so they were more than happy to be on top of things. I just hate knowing I could have weeks of feeling pregnant, struggling with the symptoms when the baby has already gone

The fact you’ve seen a heartbeat means there is some hope. I understand where you are coming from though, I remember being told my twins were both over a week less than what I expected. I remember thinking I know when I ovulated, when my last period was. I felt feeling confused as I should be happy but according to NHS I ovulated a couple of days before a positive test. They had heartbeats, but a week later - didn’t.

But there will also be a lot of positive stories. Early scans aren’t always accurate with dates. You are doing the right thing reaching out to EPU. The best thing is having a blood test to check your numbers and another scan in a week to see if the pregnancy is progressing normally

To anyone who may read this in future. I miscarried this morning.

I'm so sorry 💔😔

So so sorry xx

Sorry to read your update.

The exact same happened to me. Got a private scan at what should have been 7+5. Was measuring 6 weeks. The sonographer said not to worry as there was a heartbeat. EPU weren't interested. 4 weeks later I miscarried naturally.

So sorry for your loss