Week 7 - Heartbeat but Yolk Sac was not visualized

[psj71]

Hey everyone! I recently had an ultrasound at 7 weeks and it had observation: Yolk Sac was not visualized and they saw normal heartbeat.

Please help me and explain what does that mean and is it something to worry about after getting fetal heartbeat?

My doc appointment is end of the week and just can’t stop thinking about it

Thank you so much in advance!

Report:
“Single intrauterine pregnancy identified with a normal fetal heart rate of 149 bpm. There is a crown-rump length of 1.09 cm corresponding to sonographic dating of 7 weeks and 1 day.
Yolk sac was not visualized.
There is a region of subchorionic hemorrhage region spanning 0.9 x 1.1 cm.
Normal cervix.
Left ovarian cyst measuring 2.1 x 1.8 x 1.9 cm. No concerning ovarian or adnexal lesion identified.”

Edit: went for another scan today and they found Yolk Sac. Thank you for your kind words and assurances

 

[onederland]

@psj71 If you are 7 weeks and baby has a heartbeat there 100% is a yolk sac. It probably was not visualized on the scan, but it absolutely is there. Baby would not have a heartbeat if there was no yolk sac. Placenta will take over between 8-12 weeks, with 10 being average.

 

[psj71]

@onederland Thank you so much for the assurance, it really means a lot the report says it was not “visualized”.

 

[onederland]

@psj71 Of course! I googled for you and found a post where other women had the same thing happen and their pregnancies continued well. One said the doctor told her the yolk sac was probably just behind the baby.

 

[psj71]

@onederland Thank you for the effort fingers crossed as I will get another ultrasound on Wed

 

[sirath]

@psj71 I don’t really have an answer for you, so sorry
The yolk sac does eventually disappear, but I believe this is usually closer to week 10-12 I think?

I will say though — my fertility clinic doesn’t measure the yolk sac once they have a measurable CRL and heartbeat of the fetal pole (both of which you have).

Did they tell you anything about your SCH?

The waiting is so hard, I know!! Hang in there try not to over analyze anything (easier said than done haha) until your doctors appointment

 

[psj71]

@sirath Thank you Yes, they just went over SCH that I need pelvic rest.
I don’t recall anything being discussed for Yolk Sac and didn’t pay attention at that time as found heartbeat.

 

[sirath]

@psj71 Definitely great news for the heartbeat

For the rest, your doctor will be able to answer any questions that you have!

 

[psj71]

@sirath Thank you will go in on Wednesday!

 

[stevekolt]

@psj71 I had this at 6+5 (baby measured 6+2) and it did not end well. Maybe the yolk was behind the foetal pole as I had a transabdominal scan, the sonographer said we didn’t need to do a TV scan as everything was there. No one seemed concerned by the lack of yolk sac at the time but I wonder in hindsight if it was a bad sign that the yolk wasn’t visible- my scan clearly looked different from the norm.

I sincerely hope that you have a better outcome

 

[psj71]

@stevekolt I am sorry you had to go through a loss

 

[stevekolt]

@psj71 I hope that everything works out for you! Please keep me updated because it’s always gnawed away at me.

 

[mrsdior]

@psj71 I’m not sure. My sonographer said if the yolk sac is 6mm or under that’s good. When I asked what the lower limit was she said she didn’t know of one.

Was it a transvaginal ultrasound? At 7 weeks the baby can be seen through the belly but you won’t get as much detail as an internal ultrasound. Asking in case they missed it.

 

[psj71]

@mrsdior Thank you.
It was transvaginal, is it possible to have a heartbeat and no yolk sac? How is the baby getting nutrients if no yolk sac?
I’ve read yolk sac but no heartbeat but my report was reverse

 

[mrsdior]

@psj71 Sorry I have no idea.

 

[dezmond]

@psj71 I'm honestly not sure if it's possible to have an embryo with cardiac activity, in the absence of a yolk sac. But it's definitely possible to have an embryo -- in general -- without a yolk sac, and it's a very bad prognostic sign. The vast majority of embryos have detectable cardiac activity as soon as they're visible at all (the 7 mm thing is to account for statistics/outliers, measurement errors, etc) so I'd have to think some of those cases of +embryo -YS have a heartbeat at least for some period of time (with nutrients coming via diffusion).

 

[bloodredbeauty]

@dezmond I've been trying to find information on this. Similar situation to OP but 6 week scan (dates known due to fertility treatment). Fetal pole with heart rate but ultrasound tech could not find the yolk sac. I guess from all that I have read the yolk sac develops before the embryo and should be able to be seen earlier than the embryo itself. Can it really be hidden behind the embryo? I didn't realize what not having a yolk sac meant at the time of my appointment and now I'm so scared. I won't be scanned again for another 2 weeks.

 

[chiril]

@psj71 I reckon your yolk sac was just hiding. Such a good sign to see a heartbeat

 

[psj71]

@chiril Haha yes it was! Went for another scan today. Thank you for kind words

 

[dardan]

@psj71 “Not visualized” is different than “not present.” It just means they didn’t see it - it was probably hiding behind baby - and likely didn’t go looking hard for it. Because you wouldn’t have an on track baby with a HB if it didn’t exist.

Everything else is on track and sounds lovely!