Early Pregnancy Loss: What to Do After No Heartbeat at 6-7 Weeks

Question
I just found out yesterday my 6- 7 week old baby has no heart beat on ultrasound.  I am 44 years old. I am devastated. By the way I have had no bleeding, no cramps and still have my pregnancy symptoms. My HCG jumped from 23,895 to almost 54,000 in 6 days.  Should I go have a second opinion ultrasound, or should I just go have medical intervention.  I want to be realistic, but I'm not willing to give up hope yet.  Also after this what are my chances of being successful after this with a pregnancy?  Thanks.

Answer
Hello Julie from the U.S. (Texas),

Of course each doctor has their own protocols on how they handle this.  My preference is not to make a diagnosis of miscarriage without two separate ultrasound done at least one week apart.  This is on the off chance that the first one was too early to detect a fetal heart beat.  There is always the possibility that the dating is incorrect.  So, I agree with you that I would wait 1-2 weeks then have the ultrasound repeated.  If the second ultrasound confirms the same, then you can be assured that a definitive diagnosis has been made.

Good Luck,

Dr. Edward J. Ramirez, M.D., FACOG
Executive Medical Director
The Fertility and Gynecology Center
Monterey Bay IVF Program
www.montereybayivf.com

Monterey, California, U.S.A.

for additional information check out my blog at http://womenshealthandfertility.blogspot.com check me out on twitter with me at @montereybayivf and facebook @montereybayivf