**Ultra Sound Couldnt See the Baby** Update

I had the same thing happen to me. When I went for a vaginal ultrasound my daughter Claire was just a tiny black oval. My uterus is also tipped which made it a difficult vaginal delivery for my first child. I wouldn't freak out. Give the baby some time to grow maybe another month. With my first one I didn't even know I was pregnant until 3 months along and started having morning sickness.

Ok this gets confusing so I'll try and explain it as best as I can.

Had several early ultrasounds

1st one everything looked great you could see the sac etc...

2nd one couldn't find anything, said I miscarried

After not bleeding or having any miscarriage symptoms went back in to a different doctor/clinic

3rd one was baby, heartbeat and everything was fine!

I now have a healthy happy almost 8yr.old and I've since learned to NEVER trust ultrasounds. They had my child's birthweight predicted wrong, my friends baby was born extremely overdue because the ultrasound said she was only so far along yet she was actually farther.

If it does turn out to be an ectopic I can't tell you how sorry I am. Do know there can be light at the end of the tunnel though. I had one 31 years ago(that they only found only with explority surgery so you are lucky times have changed and they are found easier.) Also know that you can go on to have a child even if a tube is removed (as in my case). My beautiful daughter turned 27 a week ago. Hang in there and try and stay postive.

Hope all comes out well for you and your family.

I've been through this all before several times. One, if she saw the sac it can't be an ectopic so I'm not sure why she said that if she could see the sac. She should clearly be able to see that it is in the uterus.

At 7 weeks an transvaginal ultrasound should show a fetus with a heartbeat. I had one with this current pregnancy at 5 week 5 days and saw all that. With my last pregnancy that ended in miscarriage I was 6 weeks 1 day and they saw just what you saw. Nothing but the sac. It was a blighted ovum. I started to miscarry 4 days later. I should also mention I have a severely tipped uterus... so much so that at 21 weeks you still can't tell I'm pregnant.

Anyways it could be that you ovulated late and you are 5 weeks or less. Could happen it does happen! With the test she just did I'm sure she is testing your HCG level to see what it is at. She'll pry test again when you come back in cause you really need two seperate levels at least 48 hours apart to get your answers. If you HCG is lower but is doubling you aren't as far along as you seem. If you HCG is really high and is doubling... well that could be a host of issues but they have guidelines what an ultrasound will produce at different HCG levels. I can't remember what it is of the top of my head but at 10,000 but I think it might actually be 12,000 you should be able to see everything. Now most of the time if your HCG doesn't double in 48 hrs to 72 hours a miscarriage will likely occur. Only 15% of those women on average will go on to have sucessful pregnancies despite the not doubling HCG.

Hope all this information helps. Even if it is a miscarriage I got pregnant again the next cycle after it and am now more than 22 weeks along with a healthy baby boy. So don't give up hope!

M. O,

Waiting is the worst part. I am sorry you have to go through this. My third pregnancy was a blighted ovum and unfortunately it sounds somewhat like what you described. I am surprized your doctor didn't mention it. That means that a fertilized egg makes it to the uterus and your body is technically pregnant. A sac is made, a placenta grows, you can even start to show a little. But the fertilized egg never turns into an embryo, it just gets absorbed back into the body so you have an empty sac. After the doctor is sure there is no baby, the mother can wait until she naturally miscarries or she can have a DNC. My doctor said as soon as I started bleeding, I could go to the hospital and have one if I wanted.

The happy news was I was able to get pregnant quickly after my DNC and had two more healthy children. 3 of my 4 kids started embryonic life as twins, and although it is always disappointing to lose one, I am so grateful for the healthy ones I have been blessed with.

If this is an ectopic pregnancy, treating it early gives you the best chance at a healthy pregnancy later on. I hope you just have an embryo that's good at hiding, but if not, I wish you the best in the future.

S.

I would find a different doctor!!

Congratulations!!! I will continue to pray that all goes well!

I'm so sorry. I had this happen in my first pregnancy. It too was a blighted ovum. My period came a couple of days after I found out. The second time this happened, they had to do a DNC to removed the uterine lining. My thoughts and feelings are with you.

I know you said you had an anwser to your question already by talking to the Dr. again but with my first pregnancy I had an ultrasound done at 8 weeks and you could see it perfectly looked like a peanut to me. This pregnancy I went to the Dr. at 7 weeks she said it was still a bit early to hear the heartbeat so now Im 12 weeks and had an appt. and we heard the heartbeat. So by 8 weeks for sure you can see something on an unltrasound but maybe not the heartbeat yet. Good luck I hope things turn out ok for you! L.

The doctors like to prepare you for the worse case senerio; however, they are not always right and in fact they are often wrong. I suggest you NOT do a D & C unless you/they know absolutely for sure without a doubt that the baby has stopped developing or that they find out it is ectopic.
You are very early and ultra sounds can be tricky. I have heard of several cases where it took weeks for the doctor to see the baby on the ultra sound, but the baby was fine and did eventually show up. I am pregnant with my 5th baby and I asked the US Tech about this and she said that it happens a lot.

I'm not trying to give you false hope, only to say that I wouldn't hurry this along. I will pray that they know for sure what is happening on Friday, of course seeing a heartbeat would be the best.

My 2nd child was supposed to be a miscarriage because my numbers were low. The doctor was shocked when my baby decided to reveal himself. He was my biggest baby so far too. I've learned a lot.

Relax first and formost. I know that is easier said then done but there was a shadow and that might be hiding the heartbeat somewhat. My daughter in law's doctor refuses to do ultra sounds before 15 weeks because at times it is hard to see what you think you should be seeing and then there is a added worry for the parents. If it is an empty sac, worrying about it isn't going to help, but chances it is just too early to be sure to see something. I agree that if it were a etopic pregancy, it wouldn't show the sac where it is. Maybe you aren't as far along as you think or maybe it is just hidden with the shadow.
Good luck and I will say a prayer for you.

Hi there- I had a simliar experience with my current pregnancy (I'm 16 weeks now)..I am monitored pretty closely due to a hx of ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage. Thought I was about 7 weeks, but was just shy of 6. Did the ultrasound and saw the sac, nothing in it yet, so wanted me back the next week. The next week, the sac was filled and I was approx 7 weeks pregnant (There was a HUGE ulatrasound difference between 6 and 7 weeks for me). I must have ovulated 7-9 days later than would have been expected with my period. I have also had an ectopic, and the sac was seen in my tube, so my guess is if there is nothing seen in the tube, but the sac is in the uterus, you are hopefully clear, there. Sounds like Friday they will just be looking for your HCG #s to double, and the # today should give you an idea of how far you are, however it may be broad. Hope all goes well.....you can certainly e-mail me if you have any other ?s...J.

Oh, M., I'm sorry. I had a similar thing happen with my second pregnancy. We thought I was 9 weeks along, but the ultrasound showed that my uterus was only as big as 6 weeks and it was empty. It turned out to be a type of miscarriage called a blighted ovum. I thought maybe they just missed something, but another doctor confirmed that there was nothing there. I ended up needing a D&C to get my body to realize it was done.
The next time I got pregnant, I had an ultrasound at 8 weeks and, after seeing the baby, I realized there was no mistaking whether there was something there or not at that point in a pregnancy.
I hope, hope, HOPE that you are not as far along as you think and everything is OK! I wish you the very best.