UPDATE: Talk to me about measuring behind

KRMcD

UPDATE:
I was measuring right on target yesterday with the good ultrasound machine.  Good heartbeat and everything. 

OP:
Went in today, 7 weeks, 2 days according to my LMP.  It wasn't a strong ultrasound machine and there were shadows, but baby was only measuring at 6 weeks.  There was a heartbeat, so that's good at least.

But I got my positive pregnancy test on cycle day 27 (which would be 3 weeks, 5 days) so it's virtually impossible to actually be a week behind.  I go back in and will have an ultrasound on a better machine next Friday.

Tell me your stories, good and bad, about measuring behind.

m6agua

What is the date you got your positive on?

KRMcD

@m6agua Positive test was Monday, March 7.  LMP was Feb 10.  If I were 6 weeks pregnant, that would put ovulation on March 4 which is impossible with a March 7 positive test.

m6agua

To me it sounds like it could be in the realm of normal. I am only measuring 6+1 today and I got my positive test on March 10 with HCG at only 16. I think I may have implanted a little late. Also as someone else pointed out to me the ultrasound measurements while close are not always exact, they could be off +/- by a few days.

KRMcD

@m6agua

Hopefully.  I'll find out next Friday. 

chloe97

I wouldn't worry too much. I measured 4 days late on one of those crappy machines and then measured perfectly on time on the MFM u/s machine. My Dr has said she's seen them be 7 days off and then the baby measures normal again/catches up. A heartbeat is the most important sign.

MrsDho11

According to the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology the scans in first trimester can be off by plus or minus 5-7 days.  If your doctor isn't worried, I would say *try* not to let yourself worry too much.

MrsDho11

Here's the link for that.
https://www.acog.org/Resources-And-Publications/Committee-Opinions/Committee-on-Obstetric-Practice/Method-for-Estimating-Due-Date

rencontrezmoi

I'm in the same boat. I had my first ultrasound on Wednesday, and baby was measuring 5w5d when I should have been measuring 6w4d according to LMP. Thankfully, baby had a heartbeat. I go back next week for a repeat. I've never been good about tracking my cycles, and I have no idea when I ovulated, but I'm just praying that I ovulated late, and that is the cause of measuring behind. 

I have no advice, but I just wanted to say that I understand what you're going through. 

bzzrbee28

I had my appointment on Monday at 7 weeks, 2 days. They started off with an internal ultrasound and said 6 weeks, 6 days but the picture was fuzzy and she wasn't really happy with it. She decided to do an external ultrasound also and measured me at 7 weeks, 3 days...with the same machine...I feel like at this point there's a lot of room for error.

AandDM2014

Hmm. That is quite a predicament. Hopefully it was based on a not great machine, and maybe a not great ultrasound tech. You did mention that you saw the heartbeat, which is generally the best indicator, though not always. Unfortunately all you can do is wait until your scan next Friday.

NatashaSprout

My second son measured 2 weeks behind the whole entire pregnancy. He was born at 42 weeks and 2 days at 8lbs....which probably was actually right on time. dont put too much into those measurements 

KilgraveMadeMeDoIt

Keep in mind, at 6-7 weeks, the baby is a few millimetres to just over a centimetre long, and 2-4mm wide. This is something very small to measure, and they are measuring it with sound waves on a blurry screen with a moving (your breathing and even your pulse can cause unsteadiness with the image) patient. Generating an image with ultrasound is harder than it looks (I have my emergency department U/S basic training) and so even very good techs may measure off by several days because they look at a slightly different 'slice' or a very slightly different angle which changes the apparent CRL. It's not an exact science, so definitely don't get too worried about a few days discrepancy with an early ultrasound. It's part of the inherent imprecision of the imaging modality. 

I had two scans, hours apart, that measured me at 3 days different and that's absolutely nothing to worry about. 

Sheybre

With my first, I measured a week behind very early on. So my due date was changed. By the end of the pregnancy, she was measuring 3 weeks AHEAD! Try not to stress too much, I know so much easier said than done!

angelz429

By LMP I should be almost 9 weeks. Instead, I just hit 7 weeks by a dating scan. I'm going ahead with the changed date, although it may change again at a later dating scan. The heartbeat was good, so until my provider worries, I'm going to let it be lol

rooftop

My US was 6 days off based on the only time I had sex in February... I know sperm can live a while in the body but 6 days seem like too much of a gap. I figure when the difference is fractions of a millimeter on a blurry machine you gotta count on a little human error as well.

MamaBlakey

Do you remember what the heart rate was?

KRMcD

MamaBlakey said:

Do you remember what the heart rate was?

We could see the heart beating, but it was too blurry to get the HR.

jlm731

Do you have any pregnancy symptoms too? With my son (who was conceived via IVF he measured 4 days or so behind (& I knew exactly when he was conceived)...so it def is possible to measure behind and have a Perfectly healthy pregnancy.

the reason I ask about pregnancy symptoms is two years ago almost to the day of my recent BFP I found out I was pregnant....when I went in for my first u/s the baby measured a little over 6 weeks but did show a Heartbeat (115 bpm)....(i thought I should have been about 8 weeks)...i had to go back a week later for a follow-up u/s...the baby did catch up a week and we did still see heartbeat. Now I was still nursing my son so my cycle could have been off...but when I should have been a about 10 /11 weeks I began spotting and did miscarry (baby stopped growing at 8 weeks). So I know exactly what you may be feeling....I think I scoured the Internet looking for answers and others people who had similar stories that carried full term (which I can assure you there are plenty).

At the time I had few pregnancy symptoms so i think I knew that something was wrong with that pregnancy (not that symptoms translate into the health of the baby - with my daughter the only symptom i had was an aversion to chicken & salad...and cravings for apples)...I am also advanced maternal age - when I have this baby I'll be 42 (so would have been 40 the year of my m/c). I also suffered from secondary infertility so know I have dimished ovarian reserve (so even this pregnancy caught me by surprise - but my first u/s this pregnancy showed everything was looking good).

the one thing I can say is try your best to not worry...I know it's hard but it sounds likes faulty equipment can be to blame in  your case.

16isourluckynumber

***TW***

well... you said good AND bad stories, right?

There are a ton of positive stories out there.  I think that a week can be explained fairly easily.  A few days off for ovulation, plus a few days off for implantation.  

In my particular case, the result was not positive - I just miscarried and am scheduled for a D&C on Tuesday.  LMP was 1/27, BFP was 2/23 (so cycle day 27).  At my first US at 6w6d based on LMP I measured 5w3d - yolk sac only.  Second US at 8w1d based on LMP I measured 6w3d with a slow, unsteady heartbeat at around 80bpm.  Third US at 9w0d the heart had stopped - baby never grew beyond 6w3d.

I hope that your news is different and I think you have a great chance of it.  

TheBorg7of9

Since you ask for the good and the bad, My experiences with measuring behind have not been good. I'm sorry you're going through this. 

MamaBlakey

I had the exact same thing happen last week. I measured 6 weeks, but I know I was exactly 7. Let us know what happens, I am worried myself.

KRMcD

@jlm731

I am having some morning sickness.  It's not as bad as with my first two pregnancies, but then, my second wasn't as bad as my first either.  It actually got worse on Friday.  I am just as exhausted as last time and I am super hungry.  That plus the heartbeat and the fact that it wasn't a great machine is what's going to keep me sane this week.  Since baby was measuring 9 days behind that can't be explained away by late ovulation and implantation with when I got my BFP (3w5d).

I'm actually being fairly calm about this.  We lost our last one due to anencephaly (terminated at 12 weeks) so this is supposed to be our rainbow baby so I'm surprised at how well I'm handling this right now.  Although that's mostly just because I haven't given up hope yet.  It's going to be a long week, that's for sure.

16isourluckynumber

The waiting is torture.   

jlm731

Sorry for your last loss... And lots of T&Ps that everything looks good at your next ultrasound and that you haven  happy & healthy 9 months!

Your symptoms sound promising! Will be thinking off you and the other ladies measuring behind...the wait is always torture!

muybueno

@jlm731 - I'm very sorry for your past loss. Just a head's up that most people put TW (trigger warning) in their posts before talking about a MC. Just to be sensitive to those who may not be ready to read about a loss.

It's fairly well established that having symptoms (or not) is not a reliable indicator of whether a pregnancy will be viable. There are lots of ladies with few or no symptoms that have healthy pregnancies and many who experience loss even while having strong symptoms. This isn't a commentary about your own experience, it's just to say that when people link symptoms with viability, it can create needless anxiety for those who aren't experiencing symptoms.

AlaynaKohloff

Based on my LMP I should be 13 weeks, 3 days. But according to ultrasound I'm 8 weeks, 5 days. My midwife was just as baffled as my husband and I were. Still don't have any clue why there's such a big difference.

lilwonder

This is what I'm stressed about today. Last Monday at my ultrasound (as a result of some spotting) I measured a few days behind where I *thought* I should be. The tech (and radiologist) didn't seem concerned at all, but we'll see what my OB says today. I'm feeling like I should ask for another in-office u/s today, but maybe not if she's feeling like everything is good and can hear a steady (increased rate) heart beat on the doppler?? Ugh, so much to worry/be concerned about ALL.THE.TIME.

MamaBlakey

When is your next scheduled visit?

lilwonder

@MamaBlakey, are you asking me?? Just in case you are, my next appt is today... but I kind of mentioned that in my post?

edited because, I cannot type this morning.

KRMcD

They're supposed to be fitting me in this Friday, but haven't called me yet to let me know when.

MamaBlakey

@lilwonder yes, oops, didn't read your post too carefully! 

lilwonder

*TW*

@MamaBlakey, no worries. We'll see what my OB has to say in a few hours.

After I pPROM'd in December, I interviewed new OB's-- I needed someone who could hang with me through a potentially more difficult pregnancy and not just hand me off to a perinatologist (but instead co-manage me) --and while interviewing my current OB we settled on the understanding that she would be pretty open and direct with me, that I really didn't need much hand-holding, but I need someone who will give me the facts and suggest what she would do of herself, her daughter etc. When I was spotting a couple of weeks ago and saw her, first thing she said was, "I told you that I'd let you know when it's okay to worry and spotting is one of the times when it's okay, however; your look totally fine and I wouldn't be concerned right now."

I haven't talked to her since the u/s I had where the tech told me a was measuring behind. And the tech didn't even really come out and say it, I actually read it in the report that automatically gets emailed to me after any appt. I have. I'm trying to keep some faith and trust that if something was alarmingly wrong, I would have already heard from my OB directly, or she would have pulled me back in for another u/s.

yosemite2018

I thought I was 7w5d and the doctor just said I measured 6w (although based on the due date she gave me, I guess 6w1d. There was a heartbeat so she didn't seem concerned. I have to wait 4 weeks for my next appt so I am hoping that the dating at least somewhat catches up by then. I understand being late but that was a little much.

KRMcD

Update:

I was measuring right on target yesterday with the good ultrasound machine.  Good heartbeat and everything. 

DunkinDecaf

Hooray!! So glad you got good news!

comealongponds

Great news @KRMcD!!

nowakjamie6

The first day I went in for an ultrasound my date was measured at 7weeks and 4 days but the ultrasound measured at 5 weeks and 4 days which made me worried and confused since it was two weeks off. But everything was healthy which made me so much more relieved.

shevaCC

@KRMcDawesome news!

MollySm

Great news!

XmomX

Yay! Congrats for great news!