# slower fetal development early pregnancy- late heart beat?



## CanAmFam

alright i need some other people's stories here. first off, i apologize for my terrible formatting and structure of this post. im tired and heading to bed, and my head is all over the place. try to get through it, please! :)

ive had less than a smooth ride through our first IVF but as of this instant i am still pregnant. (believe me, im thrilled anything "stuck" as of now and know how lucky i am)

little background for those that have not heard our saga... 

-june 16th. transferred 2, 3 day embies intended to Xfer blasts but more than half of my eggs died over the second night and they panicked. stuck 2 1.5 grades back in with minor fragmentation . left 2 1.5 to bake and try to get to blast, and 2 grade 2 to try to get to blast. 2 made it to blast and were frozen on day 6/7 other 2 fizzled. so of 14 fertilized, 4 made it. 

-june 23rd spotting started (brown mostly) 
this continues through present day (july 20th), however now it is more often red then brown, daily. Many clots after gest. sac ultrasound that faded a few days later. never required a pad etc. but it is all day everyday. 

-june 27th Beta 18.2 (ugh) internet cheapy pee stick barely visible line, CBdigi 'pregnant'

-june 29the beta 38 (hurrah) darker pee stick- barely still not really noticeable unless you WANTED it there.

-July 1st Beta 59 (ugh again) still slightly darker. 
Told to wait until july 11th for a gestational sac ultrasound ( originally scheduled for july 6th) since it appeared to be about 3 days at least behind on hCG. july 9th was a saturday so bumped to monday.

-July 5th, pee stick about the same darkness as july 1.

-July 10th, pee stick, ULTRA dark, instantly was pregnant. didnt need to dry completely to see. 

-July 11 found gestational sac (a bit small but good shape etc), and super tiny yolk sac (hurrah)
told to come back july 20th for heart beat check (originally scheduled for july 13th)
i asked about spotting and clots etc, was told not to worry the proof was in the ultrasound, there was a baby there. 

-July 19th, pee stick, ULTRA dark , instantly pregnant about the same as july 10th. im guessing these 'cap out' on darkness. 

-July 20th no heart beat visible on screen. sac much larger, visible fetal pole/ fetus --- very clear that the fetus has developed since last ultrasound. 
told to come back in 2 days for a heart beat. 

"if there is going to be a beat, it will be there friday, if not, game over and we will start again"

:hissy::hissy:](*,)](*,)](*,)](*,)](*,):hissy::hissy:]


So now: im totally prepared for no heartbeat on friday-- at least ill know. i wasnt in the frame of mind to get to over 8 weeks pregnant without knowing anything (next time, it will be) HOWEVER. i KNOW some heart beats arent detected until much later, although rare. im REALLY struggling with discontinuing my progesterone friday if he says "game over", unless the development has not changed at all or has shrunk. 

Has anyone had experience with delayed fetal growth/ late heart beat in a successful pregnancy? i havent asked about sizes and what it is measuring in weeks etc so i dont know how behind it actually is measuring now. 

i really do not feel he would hold onto hope this long if he didnt feel there is a good chance for a beat friday. So, how do i deal? do i just give in if there is no flutter and stop the drugs and move on? Ive read online stories of beats not found until 12 weeks, some after 9 weeks. , some doctors telling patients they have or will miscarry etc, and then they have healthy kids..... im REALLY torn. 

im sure whatever happens is for the best, but it is just killing me thinking about possibly ending a healthy , although lazy, baby's life because we didnt wait long enough

my biggest fear at this point is that ill go, it will grow and still show no beat... or the doctor will again say, let's wait another day and see. it is so emotionally draining. as i said in another thread, my husband and i actually started laughing during the ultrasound today. As soon as i knew he was going to tell me to wait AGAIN i just burst out. My husband couldnt contain himself because we had just had the conversation in the car on the way over, that my luck would be more waiting. 


Dont get me wrong, im THRILLED that im still in the game. This IVF cycle (not the cycle itself, just my life during this time) has been horror in my personal life and in my head. as i said 3 weeks ago, i want off the maybe train!

Have any of you stopped progesterone shots via doctors orders and turned out to be pregnant/ stayed pregnant?
have any of you spotted/ bled on progesterone shots? im wondering if the bleeding is due to the hormone. the pack of birth control he put me on for the start of IVF made me spot every day until i stopped it. 

Should i ask my doctor about that? I do know he knows best,and i can tell he is holding out hope with a strand of floss right now for me. i just dont know what to do and how to live with my ( doctor's ) decision on friday. 


Thanks for any help or personal experiences. ive googled my brains out and i just get random posts about it that dont really help. hoping some LTTC'ers or assisted (and well monitored people's) conceptions could help shed some light.

im done with being PUPO. i just want an official no turning back BFP or BFN.

thanks again.

edit: after tweaking my search words, i did find one wonderful site about certain weeks/ embryo/ sac sizes and heart rates/ when they should be seen etc. but still really would love any responses

edit 2: after looking at the ultrasound, i could (sort of) find the CRL of the pole. it appears as 0.374cm. that would be roughly 3.74 mm. then i looked this up:

_"Generally from 6 ½ -7 weeks is the time when a heartbeat can be detected and viability can be assessed. A normal heartbeat at 6-7 weeks would be 90-110 beats per minute. The presence of an embryonic heartbeat is an assuring sign of the health of the pregnancy. Once a heartbeat is detected, the chance of the pregnancy continuing ranges from 70-90% dependent on what type of ultrasound is used.* If the embryo is less than 5mm CRL, 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 doctor is concerned about miscarriage, blighted ovum, or ectopic pregnancy, the gestational sac and fetal pole (if visible) will be measured to determine what type of development should be seen. *The guideline is that if the gestational sac measures >16-18mm with no fetal pole or the fetal pole measures 5mm with no heartbeat (by vaginal ultrasound), then a diagnosis of miscarriage or blighted ovum is made. If the fetal pole is too small to take an accurate measurement, then a repeat scan should be done in 3-5 days.* If there is absence of a fetal pole, then further testing should be done to rule out the possibility of an ectopic pregnancy."_

so technically, unless im over 5mm friday the doctor should really still hold out hope as long as it has grown, correct? shoud i demand he do another US in a week if it does grow but is less than 5 mm?


----------



## Delly

Morning Canamfam,

I have been following your story for weeks now and wanted to say i hope it turns out all good for you. I look everyday to see if you have posted and keeping my figures and everything else cross that you get a positive result. The waiting must be so hard for you.

Take Care Dee


----------



## CanAmFam

waiting is hard, but i know that im in a much better situation than those that have already gotten their negatives. im trying to hold onto hope and realize it isnt all bad. the only 'good' thing about having a negative is the ability to try again sooner. 

thanks for the support, i hope i have good news to report soon that isnt wishy washy!


----------



## mrssunshine78

i had something similar, but it didn't turn out well for me. I got a bfp on 1st ivf cycle, i had spotting for about a week even though i was on progesterone. I had 1st scan at 6w4d, definite sac, but no fp or hb, so was rescanned 2 weeks later, sac had grown and there was a yolk sac, but still no fp or hb, and was rescanned 1 weeks later (i think, it became a bit of a blur after this), and the sac had grown again, but still no hb or fp. I was told that the sac size i had they should have definitely seen something, and so i had a medically induced mc.

Am hoping that yours turns out better, try and be positive that you have a foetus developing, good luck to you :hugs::hugs:


----------



## CanAmFam

thanks for the story. i was lucky enough to have the fetal pole growing steadily, and the yolk sac there even with my really low hCG numbers. 


however today was not a surprise to me. we finally got our result. the baby was not living. it hadnt developed at all since wednesday. it was identical in size. 


so now i wait some more, at least i can put my mind to rest. i hope next time if i do fall pregnant, i get nice average numbers and everything and get a better result. no more of this 2 month waiting.


----------



## PCOSMomToTwo

CanAmFam said:


> thanks for the story. i was lucky enough to have the fetal pole growing steadily, and the yolk sac there even with my really low hCG numbers.
> 
> 
> however today was not a surprise to me. we finally got our result. the baby was not living. it hadnt developed at all since wednesday. it was identical in size.
> 
> 
> so now i wait some more, at least i can put my mind to rest. i hope next time if i do fall pregnant, i get nice average numbers and everything and get a better result. no more of this 2 month waiting.

I am so very sorry CamAmFam ... what a journey you had to go through! :cry:

There's no words that make it any better, BUT it does tend to strenthen us even though we may not realize it. 

I'm praying your next cycle yields a smooth sailing BFP.


----------



## CanAmFam

thanks for following me still :) i am relieved i no longer have to fence sit. and i do hope that i just get a plain quick answer next time around. i do think if my hcg levels were higher int he beginning here id have had a better result. im still shocked it grew as much as it did. was neat to go through and see it get bigger. iknow others dont even get that far. 

owell, till next time!


----------



## PCOSMomToTwo

CanAmFam said:


> thanks for following me still :) i am relieved i no longer have to fence sit. and i do hope that i just get a plain quick answer next time around. i do think if my hcg levels were higher int he beginning here id have had a better result. im still shocked it grew as much as it did. was neat to go through and see it get bigger. iknow others dont even get that far.
> 
> owell, till next time!

Very inspiring ... your thoughts. 

I'm glad you are taking it the way you are. I wish I could have that kind of attitude. I tend to pity myself, although that always gets me no where (I still do it though). 

Praying for you.:flower:


----------



## mrssunshine78

sorry to hear your news :hugs: you sound quite positive about it, fx your next cycle goes perfectly :hugs:


----------

