No fetal heartbeat?

SORRY TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH. I WENT THROUGH THE SAME THING IN DECEMBER. THEY DID AN ULTRASOUND AND NO HEART BEAT AFTER WE HAD ALREADY SEEN IT 2 TIMES. THEY ALSO SAID THAT BABY MEASURED AT 8 WKS 3 DAYS AND I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE 9 ALMOST 10 WKS. SO RIGHT AWAY THEY SENT ME TO GET A 2ND OPIONION THAT SAME DAY, AND THE SAME RESULTS. SO MY DOC SCHEDULED ME FOR A D&C. I HAD 2 OPTIONS 1 TO JUST WAIT AND LET MY BODY ABORT IT OUT OR 2 GET THE D & C. I CHOICE THE D&C CAUSE I DIDNT THINK I COULD HANDLE SEEING A LOT OF BLOOD AND CLOTS COMING OUT OF ME KNOWING THAT IT WAS MY BABY. I ALSO HAD A CHOICE TO WAIT ANOTHER WEEK AND DO ANOTHER ULTRASOUND BUT HE SAID WHEN WOMEN DO THAT NOTHING REALLY CHANGES. JUST MAYBE LESS BABY. I AM SO SORRY FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH. IT IS A TOUGH TIME. AND THAT PAIN IT DOESNT REALLY EVER GO A WAY. ITS BEEN 2 MONTHS SINCE I FOUND OUT I LOST MY BABY AND IT STILL HURTS I CAN STILL PICTURE MY LITTLE ANGEL ON THE MONITOR. AND I STILL HAVE ULTRASOUND PICTURES TOO. I DONT THINK I WILL EVER GET RID OF THEM.. I JUST LOOK AT IT AS IF I NOW HAVE A LITTLE GUARDIAN ANGEL WATCHING OVER ME. BEST WISHES TO YOU!

I had a similar experience 31 years ago... - The doctor announced in the beginning of my 2nd trimester that my baby was no longer alive….not developing, smaller in size since the last visit… no heart beat... the body will reject it naturally within a few weeks, or the doctor could perform this procedure within a few days…
I haven’t made all the right choices in my life, but the BEST choice I’ve ever made, was to be with my fetus as long as nature would allow me to be ….Rejecting the doctor’s suggestion to accelerate the procedure to perform a D&C.
My son, Josh, was that fetus who was to be born on September 5th, 1976……and I am SO very grateful that I trusted my instinct!

I am posting this for women who are have been diagnosed with a missed abortion/miscarriage. I too was told that my embryo was approximately at 8 weeks gestational age when my pregnancy dated over 10 weeks.

Being 42, i was referred by my ob/gyn to a genetic counselor/perinatal clinic. When i went in for my first appointment, an abdominal ultrasound was performed. The technician could not find the heartbeat, so an intra-vaginal device was used. No heartbeat could be detected and the fetus measured small for the gestational age. I was told to wait a week and return for another ultrasound, but that the pregnancy did not appear to be viable. I was also told to call my doctor if i started bleeding.

I had a very early miscarriage two years prior. It is likely that the embryo did not even implant. We were attempting pregnancy, so i performed a home test on the date my period was due. Four days later, i passed a miniscule embryo about the size of a hangnail with a small amount of blood. Over the next day I had what I would refer to as a bad period. Since I had this experience, I assumed that another miscarriage would be similar. What is disturbing is that the doctor (who appeared to be very young) made no attempt to prepare me for what would happen during a natural miscarriage. In fact, the technician and the doctor broke the news to me as though they were afraid of my reaction versus what i needed to hear - the truth and what to expect. At the time of the ultrasound, I was told that the embryo was tiny, about the size of a grain of rice. While this might have been true, i was not told about the rest of the products of conception, so when i started to spot, and since it was the weekend, i decided to just let it pass naturally. If i had been properly informed, i probably would not have chosen this option.

When i first learned about the embryonic death and prior to spotting, i scoured the web looking for specific information about the experience. Although i thought i knew what to expect, i needed to refresh my memory. I couldn't find any information of real use. I found a lot of posts referring to the emotional aspects (and they are very real), but nothing about the physical. I am posting the below to help anyone out there make an informed decision about whether to miscarry naturally or to have a d&c. My experience is of course my own and every person is different. I am only sharing this with you to share what happened to me. You should always follow your doctor's advice (if you are lucky enough to actually get any).

My physical experience:

Ultrasound day - not a viable fetus.

Day three - spotting/light bleeding/cramping

Day four - same

Day five (very graphic): Heavier cramping beginning in am. Passing large clots and tissue on pad. (Saving for pathologist (freeze in plastic bag). This continues until 2 pm.

2pm day five: EXCRUCIATING PAIN. Cold sweats. Spasmodic pain lasting 15 minutes with only 5 minute intervals of less pain. Vomiting, passing blood and material the size of my fist. This continues until 11 pm when i believed the last was over.

Day six - Very groggy. Thank god the pain is over. Serious pain for 12 hours on day five. Still can't get moving.

1 pm day six - go to bathroom and pass urine. Shortly thereafter, i pass the gestational sac (didn't know this was coming) with little pain. The sac was about 3" long ( which seemed large given the embryo was supposed to be the size of a grain of rice).

day six onward - light spotting/minor bleeding, small amounts of remaining tissue. Very little pain, but extremely exhausted and sore.

This happened ten days ago. My body miscarried the products of conception and the embryo without side effects (a benefit of considering natural versus d&c). I am still waiting to hear the cause of the miscarriage.

Of course, i have all of the emotions and reactions that are mentioned here and on other sites and the emotional experience alone is devastating. However, no one really ever speaks, in detail, about the physical experience ( like society feels that miscarriage is somehow taboo).

I wanted to share my personal experience so that if you are faced with making a decision, that you might have just a glimpse into what might happen physically. I realize that this information was graphic and I apologize if i have scared or offended anyone. I survived physically, but if i had known how progressively worse the experience would get, i would have gone to the emergency room and opted for a d&c. I am also finding very difficult to get the images out of my head. My husband is also recovering from being my caregiver throughout the ordeal. Just another thing to consider.

sbb1965, thank you for sharing your experience in graphic detail. (My post will also have graphic details.)

I have had two miscarriages this year at 6.5 weeks, and just found out Friday that my current pregnancy has lost its heartbeat at 8w4d (of course, it was 9w3d when I found this out.) I am now trying to make the difficult choice between a d&c and a natural miscarriage.

The other two miscarriages were natural, since I started bleeding before I even had an ultrasound. At 6 weeks, the miscarriage was uncomfortable and bloody, but not scary. I had 2 days of heavy bleeding and passed lots of small fluffy clots - nothing bigger than a thumb. I saw no tissue bits or anything that I could identify as an embryo or gestational sac. Then there was another week or so of lighter bleeding. I was very glad I didn't have a d&c, though I wish I had been able to have the embryo tissue analyzed for genetic issues, and gender. It really bothers me that I don't know the genders.

But with this miscarriage, I think I will have a d&c, especially since I'm at 9w5d now. I know the embryo is small, but I think the placenta is still growing, as well as the lining of the uterus. I think having to search through the passed materials looking for the embryo would be super-difficult. And this time, I really want genetic testing.

So, sbb1965, thank you for sharing your difficult ordeal. I don't think I can do that. You helped me make up my mind on this (even though I know a d&c will be trying, also).

It's a sad situation all around. I'm actually hoping for a genetic problem, because the other explanation is that my body is somehow rejecting the pregnancies or unable to support them. Now that I re-read that, there really is no upside, huh? We are planning on one more shot with IVF to screen for genetic issues. If that doesn't pan out, we will concentrate on appreciating our 4-year-old. Having long term plans like this is the only way we are making it through this.

My sympathies and hope for future "sticky" babies for you all,
Laurie

: All
I just found out 2 days ago my baby's hear stopped beating.Everything was going great!I am in perfect health.I just don't understand.The doctor don't have an answer.Nobody does.I still want to know WHY?At ultrasound(i had a 4D)it showed that the baby developed great,the sac measured the right size....everything was good,I am going for d&c Monday,but before i will i want to ask one more time for another ultrasound...for my peace of mind.Maybe,just maybe something happened that day and they couldn't hear..i don't know..it happened before.Or maybe i am not that far that i think i am,maybe i ovulated later in my cycle.I don't know...
How do you go on with your life?How do you keep your eyes dry,when i can't stop crying?How can i start to live my life again when everywhere i look i see a pregnant woman,a baby,a commercial with Gerber food,toys or other baby stuff.Than is the birth control...Sad...Some woman have babies and they don,t want them.The abuse the kids,even kill their own kids.Others are pregnant and they use drugs,they drink,smoke do all the bad stuff and still give birth to healthy babies.And i did everything right and my baby died.Makes me so angry!!!Why?Why,can't woman who wants kids can't have any?Life it so unfair!!!I just wish i can go on...At least try to,but right now i just can't.My husband is so great.He is my rock and he is just as hurt as i am,but he doesn't show.We cryied together Tuesday when we got the news,but now he is strong for me.I love him so much.He is great!We will try again soon as i recover from this ordeal.
I wish all of you the best!!! :'(

I am 21 years old and found out i was pregnant on Feb. 14 of 2009. I was soo happy because my husband and I had gotten pregnant on our first try. I immediately went on the internet to find out everything on being pregnant. What not to eat, what to avoid, what not to do. My in-laws were so excited, this would be their first grandchild. On March 6th of 2009 I started spotting. I didn't have a doctor yet so I went to the ER. They did a pelvic exam and looked inside me and said I would be fine. When I came home, everything went back to normal... I was always hungry, nauseated and tired. These all seemed like the baby was still growing and just normal. On March 24th I started bleeding again. At this time I was exactly 10 weeks and 4 days. I thought maybe this really isn't anything so I let it pass until 8pm that night, then it stopped. The next morning I didn't see any sign of bleeding so I went on my errands for the day. Around 12pm I felt a lot of discharge coming out. When I got to the bathroom I looked at my underwear and it was covered in bright red blood. I immediately went to the ER and they scheduled me for an Ultrasound the following day. The doctors said everthing looked fine, but it all depends on the ultrasound the next day. so that night my husband and i prayed and cried and hoped for the best. The next day, after the ultrasound, the doctor came in with the news, our baby didn't have a heartbeat. there was no way of knowing when the baby died and there was only three options they recommended me to take: 1) let the baby come out on its own 2)let them give me some pills to make a miscarriage or 3) D&C. They scheduled us to go meet with a specialist the next day and sent us home. There is nothing to describe the pain and hurt that you go through. That night was honestly one of the saddest nights I'll ever have. The next morning the doctor explained to us that this happens 50% most of the time and they didn't know why it happened. All they can do now is how to get the baby out. I decided to go with the D&C because I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the pain of seeing my baby come out. I just wanted it to be quick and pain free... For both of us. The D&C was scheduled later that same day and it went smoothly. The nureses were so kind and sympathetic. My doctor was very compassionate and eased me of my fears. The procedure lasted only 10 minutes. I was wheeled in the OR at 2:15pm. My husband was sent to the waiting room and at exactly 2:30pm, the doc already came out and told my husband everything went fine and everything is ok. The days after that I felt cramping and tightning of my abdomen. The heating pads helped me out a whole lot. I really didn't need the Ibuprofens and pain killers they gave me. For most women, the fetus is already coming out.. But for the women who are like me and have choices, I would advise a D&C. It is too painful to watch your child come out of you. I hope that this has helped anyone who is thinking of a D&C.

Me and my husband had been trying to get pregnant since August of 2009, no succes for 6 months(we thought it was because he was stationed out of state and the timing wasnt always correct). Finally, we succeded on march 23,2010 i went for my first ob/gyn appt i went for all the blood work and everything came back normal as well as the pap smear, we got to have an ultrasound done and determined that i was 8 wks and 4days with a fetal hb of 148bpm. The weird thing is i have had NO symptoms, i have actually lost weight(which they say is normal in your first trimestter), no vomitting, no nausea, NOTHING. One of the nurses says that i am one of the 20% of women who dont get that. So we go for a 4wk follow up yesterday, i am supposed to be 12wks 6days, the dr looks for a heartbeat on the doppler and can not hear anything so he grabs an ultra spund machine, he says that machine does not give a clear picture so he grabbed a different one, he brings in the machine, and after looking for about five minutes he decides to get another dr, my heart started racing and i knew there was something wrong, i looked at my husband i immediatley wanted to start crying, the 2nd dr comes in and after they both look for a nother 5 minutes,while my mind i going crazy thinkg wtf is wrong with my baby the dr lets me know that btwn my last wisit and now the baby has passed away......he says my baby is measuring about the same as my last visit, and he wants me to come in on monday for one more ultrasound and if i would like a d&C my question is why hasnt my body miscarried naturally ? i mean i dont think i can handle that anyway but why if the baby hasnt grown since the last visit then that means it has been deceased for some time now...im so confused i cant eat i cant sleep, i keep thinking what if this and what if that...does any one have any answers ?

i am at 11 weeks and 1 day and the doctor did an ultrasound for less than a minute when she confidently told me no heart beat and the fetus measure 8 and a half weeks. I am scheduled for another ultrasound on tomorrow. Need all your prayers and hoping for a miracle.

I'm currently in the same boat as you, I'm 10 weeks pregnant according to lmp but the scan only shows about 7 weeks but no heartbeat seen. So I know how you feel, it is just horrible. Have you had any further news?

I'm sorry about what your goingg thru try not to. Stress so much I was pregnant around the same time as you I was 11 weeks pregnant on feb 18 I was diagnosed with a blighted ovum just this morning around 3 am I pushed the sac out bcus I could feel it coming down I chose not to take meds or the dr go inside it was very painful cramping idk your religious beliefs but god does things for a reason im hurting nd sad alll 'his time I thot there was a bby inside but there wasn't I'm glad there was no bby it didn't suffer be strong god will bless us he just mite b testing our faith

My prayers. R with you

I'm seven weeks pregnant had an Ultrasound yesterday. The OBYN told me that my baby is smaller than other weeks old baby and NOT BREATHING! I told her that I had some bleeding spots , bright red and spotty sometimes for the two weeks. She said IT'S THE SIGN OF A MISCARRIAGE. She told me next week do another Ultrasound for the second time to make sure if I'm accurate with my Menstrual Cycle or NOT. I don't know why she want to keep until next week if she said THE BABY IS NOT BREATHING ? I'm so freak out about this ! Please give me an advise! I hope every goes well with you!

God Bless you and unborn child!

That is great news. I am in the same situation as my lmp was in March. However, I went to a clinic and was told I was 9 weeks pregnant at the time. I went to my OBGYN 2 weeks later and was told my baby measues 7 weeks as opposed to 11 weeks. Three weeks later, I visit the perinatologist and the tech ound no heartbeat with the doppler. The doctor comes in and for a few minutes which I was not satisfied with, they performed a trans vaginal ultra sound. They told me there was no fetal movement and no heartbeat and that my baby stopped developing. I went to my OBGYN right after and no ultra sound was performed. This is the hardest thing dor me to accept as I am 34 y/o and this is my very first pregnancy after trying for 2 years. I refuse to accept that my baby has nt develped and died on me. I am scheduled for a D&C in 2 days but I want an ultrasound done before any other procedure is done. I pray that there is hope for me like there was for you. Getting pregnant is a great desire of mine that I can't even explain how much emotional pain it cause. I have not been n pain besides the few cramps that the doctor told me to expect with the growig of the uterus. Nor have I bled. I am so confused and so concerned. I would hate to know that my baby is alive and well and being told otherwise. Please pray for me.

Im so glad to hear some good news God is good