what should my mum do if the ultrasound at 8 weeks showed no heartbeat?

Question

My mother is 40yrs old, she went to have an ultrasound last week and they couldnt trace a heartbeat. Mum got really depressed because doctors told her it isnt alive and she should get it removed. They had the operation ready to go 4days later and mum couldnt go through with it. She had a second ultrasound on monday and still no heartbeat.
Im scared that my mum could get infected and become sick. She has been drowsy lately but she has no symptoms of a misscarriage.
Im abit scared and confused and so is my mum. I cant get the thought off my mind can someone please help?

She did a normal ultrasound yesterday and last tuesday she did a vaginal one.
I also thought it would be fine to wait 1 month so it could have time to develop a heart if it hasnt fully developed yet? But then my teachers got abit worried that my mum could get sick from waiting that long.

Answer 1

It is possible that her dates could be off and it could be an early, viable pregnancy. A baby's heart doesn't start beating until between the 5 1/2 to 7 week mark....so if her dates are off by even a little bit it makes a huge difference. Holding off with the D&C is OK. If the doctor hasn't done blood work...that definitely needs to be done. What is suggested is a HCG quantitative and a Progesterone. Then in 48 hours the HCG quantitative needs to be repeated. In an early, healthy pregnancy the original number should double. Also, Progesterone plays a vital role in supporting a healthy pregnancy. It has been studied that in order to support a healthy pregnancy through the first 12 weeks it should be around 20. If it isn't, she should be put on Progesterone through the 12th week.
Hang in there......keep your chin up. Infection won't set in this quickly if it is a bad pregnancy....although we can be praying that it isn't....as it seems that you guys are excited about this little one. Watch for cramping and bleeding (or spotting). At first signs contact your doctor....but to start, I would get some blood work rolling!

Answer 2

I am so very sorry. I had a ultersound at 7 weeks that showed no heartbeat then 8 weeks same thing. I was "never" told to have it removed. I was told the body will let the pregnancy go all on it's own sometime before 12 weeks. I lost the pregnancy at 10 weeks on my own with no problems. I was told in fact getting a d&c would make getting pregnant again harder and SHOULD only be done if the pregnancy did not come out on it's own. I was so depressed and emotional after the loss that pregnancy took 4 years of fertility meds to get!. I wish I could give you HOPE no way the baby is viable with no heartbeat. I will pray for your mom. That miscarriage was THE HARDEST thing I even went thru mentally. I am currently 12 weeks pregnant we saw the heartbeat at 8 weeks very strong. A 8 week pregnancy is small but, the heart can be seen beating as soon as 6 weeks often. If they saw NOTHING no sac the pregnancy may be dated WRONG before 5 weeks it's hard to see anything sometimes. If a sac was seen with a fetal body and no heartbeat that is all bad. If only a sac is seen it's called a belighted ovem a pregnancy that never developed a baby or the baby stoped growing extreamly early on development.

Answer 3

Watch your mom...if she becomes ill, high fever, dizzy, faint call a doctor asap.......she may develop some infection from the non viable fetus still in her body. however in most cases like this the body will naturally reabsorb the fetus and your mom will have some bleeding and in a month or 2 resume her normal cycles. Also the body may choose to reject the fetus, in that case your moms body will naturally "flush" her uterus like a period and the non viable fetus will come out. this could be very painful and stressful for your mom. If this happens your mom will have to watch that she doesn't bleed to much and go see a doctor for another ultra sound. No matter what happens though, if the baby has no heartbeat at 8 weeks...there is no chance that the pregnancy will continue. Stay by your mom and support her...this is a very difficult thing for a woman to go through. You are great to want to find out information to help her. Make sure your mom continues to see a doctor to make sure all is alright. Good Luck.

Answer 4

By 8 weeks, a heartbeat should have been detected. If the ultrasound showed no baby and an empty fetal sac then it's probably a blighted ovum. I'd recommend letting nature take it's course. A woman's body eventually catches up with what's going on in the uterus and if there is no baby or baby didn't make it, miscarriage is inevitable. She should at least begin some bleeding soon. I'd get a second opinion. Natural miscarriage, if it is going to happen at this stage is not as painful as doctors make it out to be and it's much less traumatic emotionally- especially after losing a baby. Who wants to go in to have their uterus scraped? If she wants to get pregnant again which is a natural response of a woman who suffers this kind of loss, then she has to wait about 6 months after the scraping to get pregnant again. Depending on how much scraping they do, future pregnancies may have a higher risk of miscarriage due to a thinner lining for an egg to implant in. Also, what about the what if's? Have her HCG levels been tested? If they are going down, then miscarriage is probably inevitable. In a healthy pregnancy the numbers should double every few days at this stage. If you decide to have a natural miscarriage, make sure to get your HCG numbers done to make sure that they go down to zero. If they don't, then there is a chance of infection. But at least with letting it happen naturally, she'll not need to guess if there might have been a healthy baby in there that she aborted by accident. If she begins to have a fever and unexlpained chills with no symptoms, then a D&C is necessary for her health. But if no fever, then I'd at least get a second opinion. A woman's body is an amazing thing and it does catch up if it is a miscarriage. I had an early miscarriage in January. I went in for Ultrasound and it was an empty fetal sac at 9 1/2 weeks. I started spotting by about 9 weeks - then came the full blown bleeding 1 1/2 weeks later. The statistics are very high that almost every woman has at least one miscarriage in her life and that you can go on to have a healthy pregnancy. Everytime a woman becomes pregnant she is taking a risk. I'd see a certified nurse midwife for a second opinion. I don't know where you live but the nurse midwives in Illinois are Nurses with a Master's degree - trained to help women take care of their bodies as naturally as possible. They have high level training. They helped me get through the miscarriage by answering my questions and helping me understand all of my choices and how to be healthy all along the way. Sometimes, OB-GYNs are following the rule and procedure without telling a woman what her options are in a situation like this. Most doctors will be a little too quick to opt for the D&C when if there isn't a fever or any indicators of an infection - it's better for your body to let it go naturally if it's going to happen. I became pregnant again exactly 2 cycles after my loss. PS - I'm 36 only 4 years younger than your mum and I'm now pregnant with a 14 week old with a heartbeat - healthy as anything so far!

Answer 5

Most of the time the body will take care of it on its own. I had an ultrasound at 6wks 4 days that showed no heartbeat and I carried it to 10 wks 6 days. Sometimes it can take a few weeks. The doctors will know when to interviene. Give her my deepest sympathy. If she starts feeling like shes got a major case of the flu, runs a high fever, or feels faint she needs to go to the doctor. Those can be signs of an infection.

Answer 6

Did she have the u/s on the tummy or vaginally? Vaginally is most accurate at that time, but can still be wrong. I would wait and see what happens. You never know...her pregnancy could be off by two weeks or more...that is not uncommon. If there is no baby or it has passed away the body will pass the baby on its own. Did they see a sac? If they saw nothing then maybe she had a chemical pregnancy. If I were your mom I would have blood work done to check hormone levels. Know that you, your mom, and the baby will be prayed for.

Answer 7

In my opinion, I think she should listen to her doctor and go ahead and get the operation. I lost my first child 3 years ago. I lost it at nine weeks but I was 12 weeks when i found out. I had to have a DNC the same day. And sorry to hear about that. But i think she needs to have the operation. By not doing so could set up infection in her bloodstream and cause serious problems for her

Answer 8

Well, at 8 weeks its kind of difficult to find the heartbeat, since the baby is too small. If the baby wasn't alive, her body would have rejected it by now. Was the ultrasound vaginal? cause if it wasn't, it's really hard to even find a baby.

Answer 9

I have had this happen to friends before. The heart beat might not be strong enough to pick up yet. I'm glad she didn't listen to the doctors the baby might be fine. One of my friends was told to abort her baby because it was going to have major birth defects, she kept the baby, and it was completely normal. Just keep an eye on your mom, and tell her to hang in there.

Answer 10

My Mum had a child die inside of her and it was discovered right before gangrene was about to set in. A few days more and she would have died. If you have a child in you that is not alive, you should follow whatever advice the doctor has for the delivery of the stillborn baby.