QuestionHi, I am 8 weeks pregnant and just had my first vaginal sonogram at the doctor. they said the baby has developed to 8 weeks but has no heart beat. My doctor said the pregnancy is bad and scheduled me for a D&C in three days. I have been reading other peoples stories online and others have said they did not hear a heart beat till 10 weeks. Is there any chance my baby is still alive and they just didnt hear the heart beat and will they do another sonogram before the D&C?
AnswerDear Melissa,
A visible heartbeat can typically be seen and detected by pulsed doppler ultrasound by about 6 weeks and is usually clearly depictable by 7 weeks. A normal heartbeat at 6-7 weeks would be 90-110 beats per minute. If the embryo is less than 5mm CRL (crown-rump length), it is possible for it to be healthy without showing a heartbeat, though a follow up scan in 5-7 days should show cardiac activity. If your fetus is measuring at 8 weeks gestation, it is probably measuring at approximately 15mm or 1.5cm (the average CRL for 8 weeks).
The 10 weeks I believe you are reading or hearing about is with a Doppler instrument. After the 9th or 10th week after your LMP, you might be able to hear your baby's heartbeat at your prenatal appointment. Your OB doctor probably uses a Doppler instrument for this purpose, which bounces harmless sound waves off the fetal heart. By the 12th week the heartbeat can usually be heard consistently using the Doppler instrument for amplification. This is very different from ultrasound.
You can request that your doctor check via ultrasound one more time before doing a D&C or you can simply wait and have a natural miscarriage. There are pros and cons to both.
I hope this has helped you and answered your question. I do wish you well.
Brenda
