Ok here’s what happened I had sex for the first time with my boyfriend and we used a condom but a couple weeks later I started to show signs of being pregnant my breasts were sensitive I was peeing more often a week late for my period and I had lots of morning sickness. So I went to the doctors and did a pregnancy test it was positive. Then I had a blood test to make sure of no mistakes it was also positive. I got a physical to make sure the baby wasn’t still in the tubes it was right were it should be. So I was 5 weeks into my pregnancy and I went for my ultrasound but when we looked at the screen to see the baby for the first time there was nothing there! What happened I don’t under stand?

The fetus usually shows up at around 6 weeks... although the sac should start showing around 5. Regardless, many women don't see anything until 6 weeks... so it's possible that you're one of those women.

Did the doc schedule you for another ultrasound in the next week or so?

The fetus usually shows up at around 6 weeks...although the sac should start showing around 5. Regardless, many women don't see anything until 6 weeks...so it's possible that you're one of those women.

Did the doc schedule you for another ultrasound in the next week or so?
Well no the lady said it should have a heart beat by now and said it must have died or something so I got an abortion! She said it was died anyway!!

You may have had a blighted ovum, a fertilized egg that never fully develops or an ectopic pregnancy. Both of these would cause a positive pregnancy test. I just re read your post, so they did check for an ectopic during the ultrasound?

well no the lady said it should have a heart beat by now and said it must have died or something so i got an abortion! she said it was died anyways!!!

Okay, I don't know where to begin on this one, but here's my opinion.

The fact that the person who did the ultrasound at 5 weeks told you that the baby had died, that's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard. There is no way to be certain that you were as far along as you thought, and many things cannot be detected until the 6th week of pregnancy, so to make a statement like that is shocking.

Why did you get an abortion and not a second opinion, or visit your doctor, or schedule another ultrasound? I'm in shock here.

I may be wrong, I'm not a doctor, a nurse, none of that, just a mom, but something doesn't sound right to me.

J9, Doula, please, if you see this thread join in.

Any results from an ultrasound really should come from your doctor or midwife, not from the ultrasound tech. Did you go strictly by the information from the tech, or did you have a doctor's visit to go over the findings? Was there a particular reason to have an ultrasound done at 5 weeks?
When you mentioned that you had a physical to determine baby's location, and it was determined baby was not in a fallopian tube, what sort of test did you have for this and when did you have it?
Was there nothing seen at all on the scan or just no baby yet? You often will see the gestational sac at 5 weeks, possibly a yolk sac, but not necessarily anything else just yet. Much changes from week to week in the early months... this is why very early scans should always be followed up with another if there is any question.
If there was nothing at all... it could have been that the pregnancy just did not take. This sometimes happens... someone gets a positive result after conception, but it becomes negative later because the pregnancy does not last very early on.

>>>>>Nestorian agrees: Doesn't the body have a natural abortion if there is something wrong with in the first couple of months?

Often nature will take care of things without intervention, hence the majority of miscarriages, but not always.
In some cases, a wait and see approach will be used... if it is determined early on that the baby has died, some time is given to see if nature will take its course, but sometimes medical intervention becomes necessary or desired.
In the case of the OP, since apparently nothing was seen on the scan, it may have been a chemical pregnancy... an egg is fertilized, pregnancy test comes back positive, but it doesn't develop any farther than that.

What has been done is done, but you needed to discuss this with your doctor and to be honest at that many weeks, the ultrasound is not fool proof, and often have trouble. I have known many people who were told the baby was not alive and have perfectly wonderful children born.


You need to see your original doctor to be sure everything else is OK, but beyond that never do rash medical choices without a 2nd medical opinion of a doctor, not a tech.

I agree, please go back to the doctor! An abortion or D and C will not have taken care of an ectopic pregnancy. Ectopics are dangerous and potentially fatal.

I agree, please go back to the doctor! An abortion or D and C will not have taken care of an ectopic pregnancy. Ectopics are dangerous and potentially fatal.

If you read the entire thread, you will note that she did NOT have an ectopic pregnancy. Again, if you read the entire thread, the pregnancy has already been terminated.

You may have had a blighted ovum, a fertilized egg that never fully develops or an ectopic pregnancy. both of these would cause a positive pregnancy test. I just re read your post, so they did check for an ectopic during the ultrasound?
No I don't think they checked for one of those I've never even heard of a ectopic pregnancy! :(

Okay, I don't know where to begin on this one, but here's my opinion.

The fact that the person who did the ultrasound at 5 weeks told you that the baby had died, that's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard. There is no way to be certain that you were as far along as you thought, and many things cannot be detected until the 6th week of pregnancy, so to make a statement like that is shocking.

Why did you get an abortion and not a second opinion, or visit your doctor, or schedule another ultrasound? I'm in shock here.

I may be wrong, I'm not a doctor, a nurse, none of that, just a mom, but something doesn't sound right to me.

J9, Doula, please, if you see this thread join in. well for one it's the only hospital in town I'd have to drive for hours to find another doctor (it's a small town) and I didn't know what to believe I was only 16. But the nurse wasn't a very pleasant one I think she had some issues with teen pregnancy!

Any results from an ultrasound really should come from your doctor or midwife, not from the ultrasound tech. Did you go strictly by the information from the tech, or did you have a doctor's visit to go over the findings? Was there a particular reason to have an ultrasound done at 5 weeks?
When you mentioned that you had a physical to determine baby's location, and it was determined baby was not in a fallopian tube, what sort of test did you have for this and when did you have it?
Was there nothing seen at all on the scan or just no baby yet? You often will see the gestational sac at 5 weeks, possibly a yolk sac, but not necessarily anything else just yet. Much changes from week to week in the early months...this is why very early scans should always be followed up with another if there is any question.
If there was nothing at all.....it could have been that the pregnancy just did not take. This sometimes happens...someone gets a positive result after conception, but it becomes negative later because the pregnancy does not last very early on. I did talk to my doctor after but he said nothing about not being able to see it yet! And yeah I took the techs information I was only 16 and scared about what was going on no one told be all these things. And I lived in a small town at the time which has been proven to be full of stupid people! And yes we did see an eggs sack I think and there was two small blotch things on opposite ends of the yolk sack but she said it couldn't be a baby it was to small and she wasn't able to prove it was a baby... she just said it was a falls pregnancy or the baby died. And the said it was best to have it removed over letting it abort its self.

Ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy that implants somewhere other than the uterus. You said that they checked your tubes and that it was right where it should be.

If it had been ectopic then a simple abortion wouldn't have done the trick, they would have given you a drug called Methotrexate which sometimes works, or a laparoscopy, laparotomy, and in some cases surgery. You would be aware if the pregnancy was ectopic.

It sounds to me like a blighted ovum if you really did see a sac on an ultrasound.

I had the same thing recently. At my first U/S they could only find a sac, but no fetus. I went for several more U/S and a second opinion, but it was not to be. I had a blighted ovum and after waiting 4 weeks to miscarry naturally, my body would not. In fact, my HCG's kept going up instead of down. I had a D&C at 12 weeks and I'm still physically healing, a month and a half later. Blighted ovums are very common, but scary when you've never been through it.

I hope you continue to seek help and answers from your doctor.

Good luck