6 Week Ultrasound and No Heartbeat - How Worried Should I Be?

Hi SH,

I don't know too much about this, but it is my understanding that many times at such an early ultrasound, the babies heartbeat may not be visible.

Very best wishes,
N.

Hi, I wouldn't worry yet. With my 8 yr. old son, I had an ultrasound at 5 1/2 weeks and they didn't see anything, not even a sac. 10 days later at 7 weeks 0 days, they saw everything, including the heartbeat. Good hormone levels are a really great sign. I had 3 miscarriages, so I know how scary these early weeks are, but hang in there! From my experience w/ 5 pregnancies (2 living children) and many many many ultrasounds your ultrasound is just where it should be at this point of your pregnancy. Can you get another ultrasound at 7 weeks? That's when they can usually see a heartbeat if everything is progressing normally.
Best wishes,
A.

The doctor couldn't find a heart beat with my daughter until I was about 12 weeks along, even though they saw the sac and all that other stuff at 5 weeks. I went on to have a healthy baby girl. Its hard not to be scared when you can't pick up a heart beat, but my doctor reassured me that it common to have a hard time picking up a heart beat early in a pregnancy.

My son did not have a heartbeat yet at 6 weeks. We did a second ultrasound two weeks later and saw one. I went on to have a very healthy little boy.

I'm wondering why the did an ultrasound at such an early date? I went to fertility at UCSF and the earliest they would do it is at the 7 week marker. At that one we easily saw a clear strong heartbeat. I had another exactly 2 weeks later at 9 weeks and saw the heartbeat as well as little hands and feet. I wonder if the ultrasound equipment could affect what you do or don't see? Maybe some equipment is better than others? In any case - until you are 7 weeks - I wouldn't worry about it. Try to go in again soon for a repeat ultrasound. And ask your doctor if you should worry or not right when you are having the test done. Don't wait till the doctor leaves the room. Also, if it's been a weeks since the test then you could do another one any day and probably see the heartbeat.

it's possible that you have a healthy developing baby. i had an ultrasound at 8 weeks & my OB said "there's the heart there, it is hard to see them beating this early in the pregnancy". think positive & see what happens at the next appointment.

A heartbeat cannot usually be detected until 8 weeks. I'm wondering why the dr did the ultrasound so early? If your dr will order them, you can have blood tests approximately every 3 days to moniter your hormone levels to be sure you are not miscarrying. Chances are the ultrasound was just done too early and your next one will probably be fine. I assume you have one scheduled at 8 weeks or later.....Good luck!

I know every pregnancy is different, but when I had this, they called it a Blyth Ovum (sp). This means that the sac continued to grow week after week, but the baby did not. They never did find a heartbeat and I went on to miscarry.

I had a similar situation at 5-6 weeks (10 years ago), but they didn't see a sac and advised it could be an ectoptic pregnancy and to come back in a week for another ultrasound. Talk about frazzled and worried! A friend suggested a fairly inexpensive way to track my hormone level at home (assuming money isn't super tight for you). She suggested buying a weeks worth of Wal-Mart (or other cheap) brand home pregnancy tests and taking them each morning, timing down to the second how long it took to turn positive. If everything is OK, the time should shorten each day, because your hormone levels should be rising each day. If the time increases, there's a problem. It worked for me! I kept my sanity until my appointment the next week and finally saw the heartbeat.

I wouldn't worry yet. How sure are you about your dates? Unless you were doing fertility charting and know exactly when you conceived, being off just a few days can make a huge difference because the heartbeat begins between the 5th & 6th week. Most of the time, dr's assume you have a 28 day cycle and ovulate on day 14. For me, I have a 35 day cycle so when I went in for my "8 week" ultrasound, I was only 7 weeks. Thank goodness I knew that or I probably would have freaked that my baby was too small.

Get another ultrasound in a week or two and you should be able to see the heartbeat. I really hope your baby is healthy & growing right on track.

As many have said, it is early. It may be 8 or 9 weeks until you see the heartbeat. But you can get info quickly by doing the hcg levels (blood test) and then repeating 48 hours later. If they don't nearly double or go down, then there is probaby an issue. But at least then you can discuss things with your doctor. Good luck!

This happened to me and resulted in my adorable baby girl, totally healthy. It seems odd to me that they even do ultrasounds that early, as this happens a lot at that stage. We saw my daughter's heartbeat at 8 weeks. Good luck to you!

I had the same thing also. Don't worry if your hormone levels are fine. D. found the heartbeat at about 7 or 8 weeks. At about 10 weeks, you can hear the heartbeat which is really cool.

Don't worry about it. I had the same thing happen and I ended up having a healthy baby girl. Your dates could be offand next week you will see the heartbeat!

i am teribly surprised that your doctor did not discuss the issues at hand during the ultrasound?

Hi SH,

Hopefully all is well with your baby and the Dr. just couldn't find the heartbeat. One thing you can have them do is take blood one day and then again 2 days later and they can check to make sure that your hormone levels are increasing like they should be. When I got pregnant last year they saw the same thing and once they tested my levels we found out that I had lost the baby. While it was not the outcome I was hoping for I was glad to know for sure so quickly. It sounds like there is a great chance that they just couldn't find the heartbeat yet. Good luck to you!!

I had an ultrasound at six weeks with no heartbeat, my daughter is now 18 months. What are your hcg levels?I think they need to be over 3000 before you see a heartbeat, as long as they are doubling you should be okay. Good luck!

Anything is possible! Just follow up diligently with your MD and don't stress until and unless you are given a definitive result.

GL and P&PTs

Hi S H,

I went in for an ultra sound and didn't hear a heart beat. I had a miscarrage the same day. I was 11 wks pregnant.

Please follow-up with your doctor.

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!

At 6 weeks we did not have one. The dr said 8-10 weeks is average.
You can ask for two consecrive blood tests to confirm you are progressing normal.
Good luck and try to relax

I had the same thing happen, and then the next week at 7 weeks they found a heart beat. I'm currently 27 weeks pregnant and everything looks great with the baby. Good luck to you, try to take it one day at a time if you can.

I'm suprised your doc even did an ultrasound that early. Mine wouldn't do it until at least 9 weeks for this exact reason.

Try not to stress about it too much (I know...impossible) and go back in for another ultrasound in 4 weeks.

Good luck,

A.

The doctor couldn't find a heartbeat on the ultrasound when I went in for my 8 week visit. The doctor shrugged and said my dates must be off. We'd been doing fertility treatment, so I knew that wasn't possible!

We tried to call the doctor back with questions, but no one in his practice returned our calls. We went to another doctor in the practice a few days later, and everything was fine. We switched doctors (due to the lack of communication). That baby is now a happy, healthy 11 year old!

I'm 34 and they started doing fetal ultrasounds on me at 4 weeks pregnancy. They did them every single week trying to find a heartbeat, all to no avail. FINALLY, in the 9th week they saw a baby and got a heartbeat. I now have a gorgeous and very healthy baby girl -- 3.5 months old!