8Wks Pregnant and No Fetal Heart Beat...

When I was 8 weeks pregnant, I passed out in one of my classes. I was taken to the ER via ambulance. The doctor tried finding the fetal heartbeat, but couldn't find one. He told me ahead of time, though, that sometimes it's too early to find it at 8 weeks, so if he can't that doesn't mean anything other than it could just be too soon. He didn't find one. And I was nervous. But when I went to my doctor's appointment a month later, she found one. She said some heartbeats can be heard at 8 weeks, but most can't. Don't give up yet. It could simply be too early.

I am so sorry that you are going through this. We went through the same thing a few years ago when we were trying to have a second child. We waited a week to have another ultrasound to confirm the situation. The wait was horrible! I did have the d&c and several months later, I was pregnant! We carried that baby to term with no problems and went on to have a third with no problems! I hope this helps.

I was just reading something that said that ten weeks was when the heart beat was detectable?? I would wait it out...do you feel pregnant?

Wait a bit. Two beta hcg's within 48 hrs would have been much better than an us at this stage. That is a blood test that measures hcg it should double every 48 hrs. The heart doesn't start beating until 6wks 1 day and most Dr's won't even look for it until 9+ weeks. Considering most woman don't ovulate exactly on day 14 of their cycle and implantation can occur anywhere from 6-12 days after conception you could be a week or so less pg than you think you are. I would ask for the blood test and take it today along with another in 48 hrs. If your #'s are doubling that is a very good sign. I'm really shocked that a Dr would recommend a D&C this early without a blood test especially since you aren't bleeding or cramping.

Hi H.,

First...sorry for the long note.

I read your post and it is a total flashback for me. I went through the SAME exact thing January 2006. I was 7 weeks pregnant and scheduled our 1st US on my husband's birthday. I thought it would fun to do this, go to lunch and celebrate....well....I went for the US and no heart beat(they couldn't find it). Needless to say I cried my eyes out. This was my first pregnancy and was so excited. We went back to my OBGyn immediately after and he told us I may be going through something called a Missed Abortion (no fetal development). Which means your body goes through the motions of being pregnant, but you are not. I was in such denial because I was so sick, breast swollen, gaining weight, but nothing. I had the option to wait a week and go for another US...we did...still no heart beat, but I needed to kow. It was so hard walking around that week waiting and waiting (crying). After that I had two options: 1. D&C; 2. miscarry naturally. I chose the D&C because (this is going to sound so bad), but I just wanted it out of me and go on with trying again. The thought of walking around and not knowing when/where I would miscarry was more emotional for me. I came to the realization that there was 'never' a baby to begin with. I felt a little foolish and thinking what did I do wrong. Of course we told everyone Xmas Eve we were having a baby, just for a few days later to say I wasn't. The D&C itself was very easy as far as the surgery part . I have the BEST OBGyn. Emotionally...I cried and cried. I also thought it was meant to be this way. Something was very wrong when we conceived and this was my body's (God's) way of letting me know the baby may have not been healthy. If anything this is waht held me together. It's funny how when people find you have miscarried, how many others you know have. I found out a few people miscarried close to me and I didn't even know.

ADVICE.....be VERY VERY careful....after I was given the go ahead for trying again...We got pregnant the very first time (yeah) and now have a beautiful healthy baby girl (9 months). It's funny how I look at her and it makes everything so much better.

Hang in there.....it will get better. I'll think about you.

I had a 2 1/2 year old son when I was pregnant again and then at 11 weeks I miscarried, I was so devestated because I had had such a succesful pregnancy with the first one. I did have to have a D&C as well and that was a little tough emotionally for me, but I got through it the hospital staff was great and very caring. My doc asked me to wait a few months before trying again. We did get pregnant right away after we were able to start trying again. Now I have 2 beautiful boys that are the world to me. I truly believe that there was a reason that I didn't carry the other baby to term, although hard at that time, things get better. Good Luck to you and your family.

Hi H.,

I am sorry this has happened. Did your doctor order an hcg level test? A friend of mine went through this recently and they tested her hormones before doing a second ultrasound. It might confirm that the baby has not developed and make it easier for you to decide whether or not to have a d&c.

My prayers are with you.

I had the same thing happen to me. Multiple US and no hope. It was very painful to admit that I had miscarried, but I finally accepted it. I opted for the D&C over natural miscarriage and am so happy I did. A friend went natural and was in soooo much pain for 2 1/2 days. The D&C was actually a painless experience, the nurses were wonderfully nurturing and my husband was supportive. I ended up getting pregnant again 6 months later and had a very healthy baby boy. I looked at it this way: Maybe that baby wasn't going to be healthy and my body aborted it for that reason. I still look at it as though I have a baby in heaven waiting for me there. My heart goes out to you. Bless you.

I am so sorry. I had two similar experiences prior to delivering my healthy baby boy. The waiting is the worst part. I was pregnant with what would have been twins and then a single, both times after multiple ultrasounds, the doctors recommended and completed the D&C. It was a hard decision, but there were no complications from either D&C. Less bleeding than a period, and I was back to work in a day. Emotionally it will be difficult either way, but my understanding is that there could be more complications waiting it out. I felt very empty after each procedure, but think that was just the emotional side effects of miscarriage.

Hi,
I am very sorry to hear about your difficulties. You need to do whatever will make you feel better about your situation. If a second opinion would help you, then do it. What would that hurt. Many people have different opinions about wether to do a D&C or miscarry on your own. It is your body and it will do what it needs to do in good time, but unfortunately you don't know when that is going to happen. Sometimes, also you will still need to have a D&C afterwards because of complications. Complications with a D&C are very rare and it does not affect your pregnancies in the future. However, it is a surgical procedure so you need to think about what you feel up to. I hope that you have good support systems to help you go through this. I am very sorry! Hope this was somewhat helpful!
D.

I see that you already posted your response but I wanted to add that the fetal heart does not begin beating until the middle of the sixth week- if your dates are even a little bit off then there is a chance that things will be okay. I would definitely follow up and if it were me I would wait to miscarry on my own versus a D & C unless there are complications. Having a D &C opens you up to the risks associated with it- infection, puncturing the uterus, etc (risks that are low but must be considered nonetheless.).

If it does turn out to be the case that you have lost the baby, that is actually a missed miscarriage. A previous poster mentioned it, but was a little off in the description. A missed miscarriage means you are pregnant, the baby develops normally, then at some point stops developing and your body is not signalled to miscarry so the hormones continue to maintain the pregnancy as though it is viable. It does not mean there was no baby, it means that the baby died for a variety of possible reasons.

H. - I am so sorry for your hardship. I have not personally experienced this, but my cousin and a few great friends of mine have. I have heard it is pretty common for miscarriages to happen in the 1st 8weeks, and back in the day - people did not even know if they were pregnant until after 8 weeks, sort of a hard thing we have to go through with new technology of finding out early. Both my cousin and friends have had successful/healthy pregnancies since having a DNC. I do not think there is a problem with you having a second opinion, the more information the better. Just know when the time is right, you will have a healthy pregnancy and baby...best of luck, our prayers are with you.

I feel for you. This happened to me just over a year ago. You are better off with the D&C - less bleeding and they will be sure to get all the tissue out. Sometimes they can even determine the reason for the miscarriage by doing a pathology report. If you feel better, get a second opinion. That is your call. Miscarriages are so common - don't let it discourage you. Hopefully everything will work out fine next time. Your doctor can give you information for support for the loss of your fetus. It is so heartbreaking.

H.,
I would wait for the 2nd ultra sound. I would also get one more opinion if that would make you feel more sure of where to go and what do do next. I am sorry that you have to be going through this. For a mother, I believe this is one of the hardest things to deal with. So many of us do and yet it doesn't get any easier knowing that. If your baby doesn't make it into your arms, just know that he/she is safe in the arms of Jesus. My prayers are with you! I don't know if you should go with a D&C. I personally would let things run there course on their own. Everyone is entitled to make that choice for themselves though. My opinion is to wait it out, pray about it and talk with your baby's father.

Hi H.~
I had a similar situation with my daughter, who is now 6 months old. I went back for a 2nd ultrasound, and everything turned out to be fine. In my situation, it turned out that I was not as far along as the doctors had thought. So, when I went back, I was at the point where the fetal heartbeat was detectable. I don't want to give you false hopes, but I guess there might be a chance that you could possibly be in a similar situation.
Either way, I hope everything will work out for you. Good luck, my heart is with you.
~J.~

H.:

Don't give up. I was not able to hear a heart beat until I was 16 weeks+. I saw a response to get a second opinion. I suggest you do that as well. With 3 kids, I noticed how differently each doctor delt w/my pregnancies. Some really overreacted and other were more linent. With my second child I really went through a lot because of how my doctor overreacted for every little thing. It almost cost me my second child because I was to the point that I did not want to proceed w/my pregnancy because of all his overreactions and tests that I had to go through. (difficult tests). I went to another doctor with my third child and it was the nicest experience.

I'm so sorry, but it is possible that you'll still be ok. I've had both experiences. My first pregnancy was no heartbeat at both US and horribly depressing. In my second pregnancy, just weeks after I finally miscarried (that was the awful part...waiting), the doc couldn't find the heartbeat again and I was completely devastated, terrified and depressed. At my second ultrasound though, there was a heartbeat and the doc said it's not uncommon to not be able to find it at the first. Try as hard as you can to remain positive and hopeful. It may sound strange, but I spent the time focusing on welcoming my baby and asking him to hang in there with me.

With the first pregnancy, we decided against D&C because I didn't want to have an invasive procedure and the doc said that I'd need more recovery time before trying for another pregnancy. Waiting for the miscarriage was awful, no doubt about that, but I don't regret the decision.

Please try to be kind to yourself and hang in there.

H. -

I'm so sorry you're going through this - I imagine it's very stressful and heartbreaking. I agree with the first poster - it's a bit early - go for a second opinion. A few weeks could make a huge difference. I've heard of women where this happen and a few weeks later there was a heart beat found and they had a healthy baby. If nothing else - your body will let you know if the pregnancy is not viable by beginning to miscarry.

If it is found that there is no heartbeat - it's then of course your choice to go about a miscarriage naturally or to have the D&C. About 2 years ago, I was 14 weeks along and after several attempts/office visits to hear a heartbeat the doc ordered an ultrasound and it showed an empty egg (blighted ovum). So, I opted for a D&C as I didn't want to prolong the event any further than necessary. 3 months later I was pregnant again and now have a healthy, happy 7 month old baby girl. There were zero complications from the D&C.

Good luck!!

Aw, I'm sorry to hear that. I had 2 miscarriages shortly before I became pregnant with my son (who was born in December). It sure is hard to hear that there is no heartbeat.

If you do not want to feel like you are "jumping the gun", you can wait and see if you go into miscarriage naturally.

I know this isn't that reassuring, but each woman can have 2-3 miscarriages for every successful pregnancy they have. Sometimes the genetics that are "pairing up" just aren't compatible.

Sending you lots of hugs. Take care of yourself and know you're not alone.

I am so sorry to hear of your situation. I believe u/s to be quite reliable with little room for error at the stage of checking for a heartbeat. That is not to say you should not wait or get another opinion, but just my personal thought.

I had a m/c with my first pregnancy. I was in a an 11 week u/s, had heard and seen the hb at a 7 wk appt, so we were shocked and gravely saddened to learn that our little one's hb had stopped at around 9 weeks. (I had no signs/symptoms of a problem). Anyway, I had a d&c and there were no problems with the procedure. It would have taken far too long for me to m/c naturally and probably would have waited and tried that only to still need a d&c later. Making the decision to have it allowed me to get closure physically and emotionally. Thankfully, I also had no trouble moving forward a month or so later with trying again to get pregnant. (I went on to have 2 healthy children in 2 more pregnancies).

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me. My thoughts are with you.

H.,

I dont have any advice for you, but I am in the exact same situation. I had my ultrasound on Monday, I would be 8weeks and there was no heartbeat(baby stopped growing at around 6 weeks). I too was devastated. I have a 4 year old son.
My doc wants to do D&C as a last resort. I am to wait and see if I miscarry naturally. I go back in 2 weeks(hopefully have another ultrasound, although doc is 100% sure there will be no heartbeat)to see what our next step is.

I am so sorry for your loss.I will be watching this to see what kind of advice you get. Good Luck to you!

H.,

I can only imagine how hard this must be.

I wanted to let you know that I have lots of friends, who when trying for a second child had miscarriages. All went on to have perfectly normal preganancies after that and healthy children.

Although I know that can not make you feel better, I thought that it might help a little to know that many others have experienced this.

I am a plus size woman and in my first pregnancy they could not detect a heartbeat at 8 weeks either. My OB told me sometimes with a larger woman you can not hear the heart beat right away. I too was nervous, but at the next appointment there it was.....my advice is don't give up just yet. Hang in there!!

My doc told me the same thing at my first ultrasound. Now I am 9 months pregnant. They totally calculated the due date wrong and were 2 weeks off... they did another ultrasound 2 weeks later and saw the heartbeat. I was really discouraged for those 2 weeks, but I'm glad I requested another ultrasound. Before your doctor rushes you into have a D&C, I would ask if maybe they miscalculated the due date and can do another ultrasound. It would break my heart if you had to wait 2 more weeks for the same bad news, but it might be worth it.

I lost my first baby at 7 weeks because a heartbeat could not be detected. My doctor did a traditional vaginal ultrasound first, then used a more sophisticated machine right after (have no clue what it is called). The second ultrasound had the capability of showing blood flow to and from the placenta (showed up as red and blue), any sort of action within the uterus, and also had thermal imaging. In addition to not seeing the 'flicker' of a heartbeat on the tradition ultrasound, the second ultrasound clearly showed that nothing was going on.

In my opinion, wait it out for the second ultrasound just to be sure. There's no harm in doing so, and at least you may have peace of mind that you waited to be certain.

As for miscarriage, I think it depends on a number of factors. How old are you? Have you had any other reproductive health issues? How eager are you to have a baby? Your doctor is fairly aware of your reproductive health - what is his/her opinion? Because I had major infertility problems, my doctor wanted me to give it time to try to let my body resolve the miscarriage. I finally miscarried about 2 months after we knew the pregnancy failed. Quite honestly, the physical act of the miscarriage wasn't that bad - feel free to PM me with questions about what to expect if you'd like.

And...we received miraculous news 2 months later that we were pregnant - spontaneously and without drugs (given my reproductive issues, this clearly was an anomaly)!

Give yourself time to grieve your baby. Surround yourself with family and your support system. And when you are ready again, if you want to try again, just be positive because (as you can see in the responses to your post) there are many, many, many success stories.

H.,
I am so sorry that you are experiencing this situation and pain. I would not hesitate to have a second US to be certain. I had the same or similar cinereo with my first pregnancy. At almost 12 weeks, I started spotting and with the vaginal ultrasound, they told me that I was miscarrying. I did not want a D&C. I was completely unprepared that this would even happen in this technological age. So, the Dr. gave me some medicine and told me my body would just "absorb" the fetus. That isn't what happened and I had not been forwarned to save a large amount of tissue passing for testing. My second pregnancy resulted in no fetal heartbeat at about eight weeks, after there had been one earlier. I had a D&C. It was a terrible situation but then the fetal tissue was tested and was found to have a condition that is never survivable for the baby after the first trimester. Almost exactly 1 year later, I had a beautiful and healthy baby girl. She is going to be five in December. I think having a child at home already will make things somewhat easier because you have your son and you have to care for your son. Don't let yourself go without grieving though. I'm not sure where you are located but there are support groups for misscarrying. Don't hesitate to attend one if the need arises. Sorry this was so long. I hope all the best for you.

I agree with the others- that is soo soon for them to be sure. I had the same situation when I was 17wks. An they told me the baby had stopped growing at 12wks. And I decided to wait for it to happen naturally instead of a D&C. It's true, for me the waiting part was the longest as I thought of many reasons why they could've made a mistake and not have heard the heartbeat. But my doc would not let me go past 10 days. My body wasn't signalling anything (no pian, spotting etc) and I still had morning sickness and was gaining weight and was still hesitant for the D &C. So before I let them do anything I asked for all the "tests" they could do to be sure. And then I let them start the procedure which was something I was very against and felt bad being on the same area as other mothers giving birth. About 4hours after just the dilation procedure I miscarried. It was like I just need to open up a bit for me body to let go. I am so glad I didn't have to have the currature procedure and I was able to see the baby, say goodbye, prayers, and have closure. So I would suggest wait, find out for sure, and even though waiting is tuff i would go with natural. I also got pregnant 4months after no problems etc.

Your situation is just about identical to mine. The same thing happened to me in my second pregnancy. At my firt prenatal visit, there was no heartbeat and the doctor could not find anything with a vaginal ultrasound. I was totally unprepared for this news and was very upset. I had to go for blood tests about two days apart, if the hormones that they were measuring went up, that was a sign that the pregnancy was continuing. They were a little lower than normal, but they did go up. I had to go back to the doctor about a week or two later, and there clear as day on the ultrasound, was what would turn out to be my healthy baby boy. Maybe you should ask about the hormone test, to give you a little piece of mind.

Don't get too upset yet, there is still hope. I think my doctor got me more worked up than anything. If she would have just said that it is still early, than I would have been fine. But right away I think she assumed it was a miscarraige and said it happens to a lot of women. When I went back, she didn't even acknowledge what happened at the first visit. It was just another day at the office for her.

Ask for the hormone test and try to keep busy until you go back. Good luck,

C.

hi there im very sorry you had to go through that my name is A. im a first time mommy too im 8 wks now and i had the saME THING HAPPEN so i talked to my mom who happens to be the best nurse around she said and another doc said sometimes you wont be able to see or hear a heart beat till your 10-20wks your baby is about the size of a kidney bean so picture how small the heart is ultra sounds cant always pick up on heaRT BEATS my first US they told me i was likely to miscarry because they couldnt find it hell they couldnt even find the gestational sac i said no way i want another opionion so i went to plan parent hood and they did a US and sure enough they found the heartbeat. good luck and always trust your instinct if you have no pain or bleeding keep going for US untill someone figures out what there doing!! my best wishes

H. - I am so sorry to hear about your miscarriage. I had this same thing happen with my first pregnancy. We went at 9 weeks to hear the heartbeat, which they couldn't hear, so they did an US, and still did not see one. I, too, went in for a 2nd US one week later only to confirm the baby had stopped developing. They did a D&C the next day. My doctor felt it was best to completely clear the pregnancy out to avoid complications with any future pregnancies. I have since gotten pregnant again and now have a beautiful 22 month old daughter.

I know this is a very difficult and emotional time. Although it doesn't lessen your disappointment, just know that countless woman have been through similar situations! I would focus your attention on your 3 year old, and when another pregnancy is meant to happen, it will!!!

Hello,
If you're only 8 weeks pregnant I would definitely get a second opinion; that's so early! I didn't get a heartbeat until 10 weeks, and even then my doctor told me that was early. I'm certainly not a medical professional so this is just my two cents, but it's probably a good idea to relax a little before making any quick decisions, and consider seeing someone else in another week or two to see if anything is different.
Good Luck!