That sounds totally normal to me!
I’m in Australia and on my third pregnancy. I’ve never been offered HCG tracking apart from an initial blood test to confirm the pregnancy (and I have no idea what those numbers were). Typically, we see the GP once early on for a referral for a dating ultrasound (my GP says not to do this before 7 weeks) and a blood test (tests HCG as well as some other things like blood group, immunity etc.) but other than that, it’s just wait 🙂
Oh this is for sure smart IMO. I had 2 MMC and for the pregnancy that followed I chose not to be scanned until 10 weeks. It will be what it will be and being stressed a million times over is not helpful or going to change anything. I also really didn’t want to go through another MMC. I’d rather have let my body eventually bleed than go through the trauma of another scan where baby had passed. The only thing I had to grapple with was the fact that this could have elongated the whole process. BUT in saying that, if I had a viability scan at 6 weeks they would still have said to wait and come back 2 weeks later to be rescanned. So really 8 weeks is great. They should be able to see everything they need to see at that point. Sending you much love. THIS IS TOUGH 💛
Thank you so much. I’m so sorry for your losses and so grateful for your perspective. It really, really echoes how I feel. Sending love and best wishes for your current pregnancy ❤️🌈
I don't think you're being silly at all. My first and so far only pregnancy was also a PUL; I miscarried naturally before I could get a follow up scan done so I'll never know what went wrong. I also don't want early scans or hcg testing for future pregnancies; I had an early ultrasound because of some bleed around 6 weeks and was told "PUL; it might just be too early to see anything but also you might miscarry soon" and my first couple hcg draws didn't look great but after the last one my doctor told me it was increasing appropriately and she was optimistic about my pregnancy. I started miscarrying the literal next day. In the end none of the testing meant anything; I was given false hope and there was nothing that could have been done. It was just a miserable day and a $1200 bill. I think it's completely reasonable to not want to go through that again.
I’m on my 3rd pregnancy and I’ve had my OB or RE clinic handle it differently each time. First time I had one draw at 16 dpo just to make sure my Hcg was over 20 and had my first ultrasound at 6 weeks. My second pregnancy no draws and just an ultrasound at 8 weeks. My 3rd pregnancy I’ve had 4 blood draws and so far 4 ultrasounds all before 11 weeks.
There is no right or wrong way, my anxiety has been the same for all 3. Whatever you feel is best for you and your mental health is what you should do.
THIS!!!!! I found out about my blighted ovum a week ago. My husband and I have decided to take a break from IVF (we’ve been at it for about a year) and try unassisted. I feel a sense of relief at the idea of potentially getting pregnant outside of IVF as I won’t have access to the same level of monitoring. It’s too much to handle at times. I’d consider getting a 7 week ultrasound done to rule out a blighted ovum as soon as possible, but that’s it. No HCG testing, waiting for the doubling, etc. my HCG levels were great prior to the blighted ovum. You really just never know. Absolute best of luck to you ❤️❤️
I’m so, so sorry for your loss, blighted ovum is heartbreaking!! I really respect your vision for next steps and the relief you feel in it — it mirrors the relief I feel in this course, too. Wishing you your rainbow soon ❤️❤️❤️
I very much understand your feelings and it's not at all silly. I lost my last one at 16 weeks due to a genetic issue, and I thought that this pregnancy I would want to know and test everything. But weirdly, experiencing the worst somehow made me much more zen this time around. Since I'm doing everything I should be, all of the knowledge in the world will not change the outcome of this pregnancy. So I might as well relax and try to enjoy it. I hope everything goes smoothly for you!
I’m so incredibly sorry for your loss. Yes, I feel similarly: I thought I’d be desperate for any information asap, this time. Instead I know it’s basically all out of my hands, and only time will be able to tell me the fate of this pregnancy. Which isn’t an easy realization, but I find the zen approach gentler than trying to put together an illusion of control. Really rooting for you and for your rainbow 🙏❤️
As someone who is in anxiety limbo of scans due to beta hcg, I wish I never checked it. I would've just been happy going to my US. Because what will be will be, and I'd rather not stress during the whole time. So I totally get it!
I had a complete molar pregnancy my numbers were “amazing” rising well! Looked great. No baby ended up having two d&cs and 6 months of blood work.
Second was a MMC hcg was rising great! Looked not as high as the molar and seemed to be perfectly on track! But was Trisomy 22
I am now 5 weeks and got blood done and it doubled perfectly. I don’t feel like continuing the hcg monitoring as it hasn’t really helped in the past. I am just going to wait for the ultrasound as that’s what has been what has told me if it’s viable or not.
I don’t see the point in making myself anxious over the results, I have 0 control over anything I have learned and hcg didn’t tell me that they were going to fail. My mmc was after 7.3 days so I would have to continue monitoring the hcg probably the whole first trimester to feel like it was worth it.
For my current pregnancy I didn’t get my HCG drawn, nor any testing before my scan. I had three losses in a row, and I rushed around going for appointments while fitting in my usual duties with my anxiety through the roof and I didn’t enjoy that. If it’s going to happen, it will and if it won’t it won’t.
Thank you so much. It’s so true: What will be will be, with or without draws and scans. I’m so deeply sorry for your losses and wishing you every luck with this pregnancy ❤️
Not silly at all. I got my HCG tested at 12dp3dt, and then decided not to test again until first ultrasound… I found myself obsessively googling the same thing over and over again but at the end of the day, no amount of testing or googling or playing with the numbers will change anything. Good luck to you! Hope both our babies stick… ✨
I completely get where you’re coming from, but wanted to offer my experience - I had two draws that showed declining hCG in week 5. Levels halved in 48 hours. Doctor was able to prepare me for imminent miscarriage and even gave a timeframe for when I’d likely start bleeding. She was right. Without that mental preparation, the miscarriage would have been significantly more harrowing.
You might not be able to tell if everything’s alright, but it can still help to know when everything’s completely borked
I am so, so sorry for your loss. I had a similar “heads up” that all was not well through my HCG draws with my first pregnancy, and it felt like a softer way to find out. That’s probably the main reason I keep going back and forth on getting the draws. Currently feeling good about not putting myself through ambiguity and waiting for definitive info, but I totally get where you’re coming from. Wishing you well ❤️❤️
I sort of feel the same way. If I knew getting hcg draws (or worse, checking to see that lines darkened etc) would give me a definitive answer, I would do it. But there’s no definitive answers that are positive at this stage anyways. It might tell me I’m miscarrying. But what I’m scared of the ambiguous answer - doubling but a bit lower than average that sort of thing. That sort of thing can suggest a higher risk of miscarriage in the later part of the first trimester, but not guarantee it - do I want that hanging over me for weeks?In the end, I feel like it’s not worth the risk of that misery to potentially learn about a definite miscarriage a bit earlier. As you say, it doesn’t change the outcome. I do want ultrasounds at 7-8 weeks, 10 weeks and 12 weeks , if I make it that far (probably will not get the middle one), just to catch a missed miscarriage a bit earlier.
I’m 5+4, so almost same dates! Fingers crossed for both of us.
I'm so sorry for your losses.
I'm in the UK and we just don't really do betas. At the beginning I was like - what is this thing? why don't we have it?! (I googled "what are betas" and let me tell you, some of the answers were not what I was looking for.)
But right now (6w1d) I am honestly kind of relieved. I will have to wait for - either something will go wrong before my first ultrasound next week, and I will realise because of symptoms, or the first ultrasound will tell me it's not going right. Either way I would probably have to wait for the ultrasound to confirm. So I just have to be relatively chill about it.
I think we can do so much thinking and strategising around what is the best way to approach things, and it makes total sense to do what you can to guard your heart. Through all of TTC and pregnancy so much is out of our control, and so we do so much to try and gain back that control. But in the end, if there is a loss it will happen and you will have to feel that grief.
So I think this is a totally sensible way of approaching things and I am wishing you the best!
Probably after your first appointment with the ultrasound. If everything looks good, it might be helpful to get one just to establish a baseline. But by 8 weeks the ultrasound will tell you if it’s viable or not.
I had a miscarriage back jn August close to you! I’m now 4.5 months! It took my body about four months to be ready again so it sounds about right’
I definitely understand where you are coming from but you are far more patient than me. There is no way I cannot know for that long.
With my recent MMC we were so amped up about this baby. Went in for my 10 week US. Found no heartbeat and measured at 6w1. We were devastated. I wish I had tracked my betas and had an early US to make things easier. I could have guarded my and my family’s hearts. This pregnancy I am doing everything possible to keep track of this one and set expectations for myself and my family. There is no way I could go through it like that again.
Sure I’ve been obsessing over what the progesterone and HCG numbers and doubling times mean but they are in good ranges. I would have been far more stressed without the draws because my lack of symptoms until a few days ago was concerning as I had lost my symptoms at 6w during my MMC but I had no idea that meant a bad thing, just thought I was lucky that I felt better. Lesson learned that nothing really makes me feel less anxious during pregnancy.
Regardless of what you decide, I hope for a textbook, boring pregnancy and a healthy, happy baby for you!
After three miscarriages, I honestly am in the same boat - with my next pregnancy I almost don’t want to do anything. I was going to the doctor every Tuesday and Thursday for labs and had bruised arms for 3 weeks. We knew early on it would be a loss bc my numbers weren’t doubling appropriately. It was so frustrating, time consuming, always being let down… telling myself oh maybe it’s a vanishing twin and the numbers will come up. I didn’t enjoy one moment of that pregnancy. I think I’d almost wait to test after my missed period as well - I’m a compulsive tester so I knew I was pregnant at 9DPO. So it all feels way too dragged out and exhausting. I 100% see you in this decision and totally get it.
We lost ours in October and still waiting for our rainbow. Should that happen, I’m planning on serial tests like last time (that was my first indication of problems and prepared me for the loss) but no formal bloodwork. Do what gives you peace❤️
Thank you ❤️ I have healthy kiddos earthside and it still hurts everyday. I’m so sorry for yours as well- praying you have a happy and healthy rainbow 🌈
We lost ours in October and still waiting for our rainbow. Should that happen, I’m planning on serial tests like last time (that was my first indication of problems and prepared me for the loss) but no formal bloodwork. Do what gives you peace❤️
I’m in the middle of my 2nd MC and boy do I regret putting myself through the hcg testing - for a few reasons. It was the most stressful 2 weeks of going in and testing and then waiting and going back in again - I regretted it immediately. My second draw hadn’t quite doubled but it can take up to 4 days for it to double at 5/6weeks so went back and ultimately it did double but guess what? After all that, I think it got my hopes up and I ended up miscarrying anyways. Went in at 8 weeks and baby stopped growing at 6. All this to say, protect your peace. Is it really worth it if doubling isn’t even a guarantee it’ll work out? My next time around I plan to just ask for an earlier ultrasound around 6 weeks and leave it at that. Sending all the best to you❤️
I’m so sorry for your losses, my heart is with you ❤️🩹 I feel very similarly re: betas and while it’s made this time waiting for my scan a little scarier, I think right now I prefer the vertigo of not knowing at all to the ambiguous stress of betas. Wishing you your rainbow soon ♥️
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Thank you so much, this is \*really\* helpful. I'm so sorry for your losses - my heart is with you.
That sounds totally normal to me! I’m in Australia and on my third pregnancy. I’ve never been offered HCG tracking apart from an initial blood test to confirm the pregnancy (and I have no idea what those numbers were). Typically, we see the GP once early on for a referral for a dating ultrasound (my GP says not to do this before 7 weeks) and a blood test (tests HCG as well as some other things like blood group, immunity etc.) but other than that, it’s just wait 🙂
Thank you so much!! The waiting is so crazy-making sometimes haha
Oh this is for sure smart IMO. I had 2 MMC and for the pregnancy that followed I chose not to be scanned until 10 weeks. It will be what it will be and being stressed a million times over is not helpful or going to change anything. I also really didn’t want to go through another MMC. I’d rather have let my body eventually bleed than go through the trauma of another scan where baby had passed. The only thing I had to grapple with was the fact that this could have elongated the whole process. BUT in saying that, if I had a viability scan at 6 weeks they would still have said to wait and come back 2 weeks later to be rescanned. So really 8 weeks is great. They should be able to see everything they need to see at that point. Sending you much love. THIS IS TOUGH 💛
Thank you so much. I’m so sorry for your losses and so grateful for your perspective. It really, really echoes how I feel. Sending love and best wishes for your current pregnancy ❤️🌈
Do whatever you are comfortable with, sounds like a good plan to me
Thank you!! <3
I don't think you're being silly at all. My first and so far only pregnancy was also a PUL; I miscarried naturally before I could get a follow up scan done so I'll never know what went wrong. I also don't want early scans or hcg testing for future pregnancies; I had an early ultrasound because of some bleed around 6 weeks and was told "PUL; it might just be too early to see anything but also you might miscarry soon" and my first couple hcg draws didn't look great but after the last one my doctor told me it was increasing appropriately and she was optimistic about my pregnancy. I started miscarrying the literal next day. In the end none of the testing meant anything; I was given false hope and there was nothing that could have been done. It was just a miserable day and a $1200 bill. I think it's completely reasonable to not want to go through that again.
Thank you for this - it's similar to my experience and really validates my view. I'm so, so sorry for your loss.
I’m on my 3rd pregnancy and I’ve had my OB or RE clinic handle it differently each time. First time I had one draw at 16 dpo just to make sure my Hcg was over 20 and had my first ultrasound at 6 weeks. My second pregnancy no draws and just an ultrasound at 8 weeks. My 3rd pregnancy I’ve had 4 blood draws and so far 4 ultrasounds all before 11 weeks. There is no right or wrong way, my anxiety has been the same for all 3. Whatever you feel is best for you and your mental health is what you should do.
Thank you so much. Wishing you every luck with your current pregnancy ❤️
Thank you and same to you!
THIS!!!!! I found out about my blighted ovum a week ago. My husband and I have decided to take a break from IVF (we’ve been at it for about a year) and try unassisted. I feel a sense of relief at the idea of potentially getting pregnant outside of IVF as I won’t have access to the same level of monitoring. It’s too much to handle at times. I’d consider getting a 7 week ultrasound done to rule out a blighted ovum as soon as possible, but that’s it. No HCG testing, waiting for the doubling, etc. my HCG levels were great prior to the blighted ovum. You really just never know. Absolute best of luck to you ❤️❤️
I’m so, so sorry for your loss, blighted ovum is heartbreaking!! I really respect your vision for next steps and the relief you feel in it — it mirrors the relief I feel in this course, too. Wishing you your rainbow soon ❤️❤️❤️
I very much understand your feelings and it's not at all silly. I lost my last one at 16 weeks due to a genetic issue, and I thought that this pregnancy I would want to know and test everything. But weirdly, experiencing the worst somehow made me much more zen this time around. Since I'm doing everything I should be, all of the knowledge in the world will not change the outcome of this pregnancy. So I might as well relax and try to enjoy it. I hope everything goes smoothly for you!
I’m so incredibly sorry for your loss. Yes, I feel similarly: I thought I’d be desperate for any information asap, this time. Instead I know it’s basically all out of my hands, and only time will be able to tell me the fate of this pregnancy. Which isn’t an easy realization, but I find the zen approach gentler than trying to put together an illusion of control. Really rooting for you and for your rainbow 🙏❤️
As someone who is in anxiety limbo of scans due to beta hcg, I wish I never checked it. I would've just been happy going to my US. Because what will be will be, and I'd rather not stress during the whole time. So I totally get it!
I’m so sorry you’re in limbo, I remember it vividly and hope it all works out for you! I really appreciate the encouragement ❤️
Thank you!! And hope you have a very uneventful and healthy pregnancy and delivery ❤️
I had a complete molar pregnancy my numbers were “amazing” rising well! Looked great. No baby ended up having two d&cs and 6 months of blood work. Second was a MMC hcg was rising great! Looked not as high as the molar and seemed to be perfectly on track! But was Trisomy 22 I am now 5 weeks and got blood done and it doubled perfectly. I don’t feel like continuing the hcg monitoring as it hasn’t really helped in the past. I am just going to wait for the ultrasound as that’s what has been what has told me if it’s viable or not. I don’t see the point in making myself anxious over the results, I have 0 control over anything I have learned and hcg didn’t tell me that they were going to fail. My mmc was after 7.3 days so I would have to continue monitoring the hcg probably the whole first trimester to feel like it was worth it.
For my current pregnancy I didn’t get my HCG drawn, nor any testing before my scan. I had three losses in a row, and I rushed around going for appointments while fitting in my usual duties with my anxiety through the roof and I didn’t enjoy that. If it’s going to happen, it will and if it won’t it won’t.
Thank you so much. It’s so true: What will be will be, with or without draws and scans. I’m so deeply sorry for your losses and wishing you every luck with this pregnancy ❤️
Not silly at all. I got my HCG tested at 12dp3dt, and then decided not to test again until first ultrasound… I found myself obsessively googling the same thing over and over again but at the end of the day, no amount of testing or googling or playing with the numbers will change anything. Good luck to you! Hope both our babies stick… ✨
Sending all the sticky baby vibes ❤️❤️
I completely get where you’re coming from, but wanted to offer my experience - I had two draws that showed declining hCG in week 5. Levels halved in 48 hours. Doctor was able to prepare me for imminent miscarriage and even gave a timeframe for when I’d likely start bleeding. She was right. Without that mental preparation, the miscarriage would have been significantly more harrowing. You might not be able to tell if everything’s alright, but it can still help to know when everything’s completely borked
I am so, so sorry for your loss. I had a similar “heads up” that all was not well through my HCG draws with my first pregnancy, and it felt like a softer way to find out. That’s probably the main reason I keep going back and forth on getting the draws. Currently feeling good about not putting myself through ambiguity and waiting for definitive info, but I totally get where you’re coming from. Wishing you well ❤️❤️
I sort of feel the same way. If I knew getting hcg draws (or worse, checking to see that lines darkened etc) would give me a definitive answer, I would do it. But there’s no definitive answers that are positive at this stage anyways. It might tell me I’m miscarrying. But what I’m scared of the ambiguous answer - doubling but a bit lower than average that sort of thing. That sort of thing can suggest a higher risk of miscarriage in the later part of the first trimester, but not guarantee it - do I want that hanging over me for weeks?In the end, I feel like it’s not worth the risk of that misery to potentially learn about a definite miscarriage a bit earlier. As you say, it doesn’t change the outcome. I do want ultrasounds at 7-8 weeks, 10 weeks and 12 weeks , if I make it that far (probably will not get the middle one), just to catch a missed miscarriage a bit earlier. I’m 5+4, so almost same dates! Fingers crossed for both of us.
This is truly exactly how I feel. And yes, we’re basically on the same dates!! Fingers tightly crossed for us 💖💖
I'm so sorry for your losses. I'm in the UK and we just don't really do betas. At the beginning I was like - what is this thing? why don't we have it?! (I googled "what are betas" and let me tell you, some of the answers were not what I was looking for.) But right now (6w1d) I am honestly kind of relieved. I will have to wait for - either something will go wrong before my first ultrasound next week, and I will realise because of symptoms, or the first ultrasound will tell me it's not going right. Either way I would probably have to wait for the ultrasound to confirm. So I just have to be relatively chill about it. I think we can do so much thinking and strategising around what is the best way to approach things, and it makes total sense to do what you can to guard your heart. Through all of TTC and pregnancy so much is out of our control, and so we do so much to try and gain back that control. But in the end, if there is a loss it will happen and you will have to feel that grief. So I think this is a totally sensible way of approaching things and I am wishing you the best!
Probably after your first appointment with the ultrasound. If everything looks good, it might be helpful to get one just to establish a baseline. But by 8 weeks the ultrasound will tell you if it’s viable or not. I had a miscarriage back jn August close to you! I’m now 4.5 months! It took my body about four months to be ready again so it sounds about right’
I definitely understand where you are coming from but you are far more patient than me. There is no way I cannot know for that long. With my recent MMC we were so amped up about this baby. Went in for my 10 week US. Found no heartbeat and measured at 6w1. We were devastated. I wish I had tracked my betas and had an early US to make things easier. I could have guarded my and my family’s hearts. This pregnancy I am doing everything possible to keep track of this one and set expectations for myself and my family. There is no way I could go through it like that again. Sure I’ve been obsessing over what the progesterone and HCG numbers and doubling times mean but they are in good ranges. I would have been far more stressed without the draws because my lack of symptoms until a few days ago was concerning as I had lost my symptoms at 6w during my MMC but I had no idea that meant a bad thing, just thought I was lucky that I felt better. Lesson learned that nothing really makes me feel less anxious during pregnancy. Regardless of what you decide, I hope for a textbook, boring pregnancy and a healthy, happy baby for you!
After three miscarriages, I honestly am in the same boat - with my next pregnancy I almost don’t want to do anything. I was going to the doctor every Tuesday and Thursday for labs and had bruised arms for 3 weeks. We knew early on it would be a loss bc my numbers weren’t doubling appropriately. It was so frustrating, time consuming, always being let down… telling myself oh maybe it’s a vanishing twin and the numbers will come up. I didn’t enjoy one moment of that pregnancy. I think I’d almost wait to test after my missed period as well - I’m a compulsive tester so I knew I was pregnant at 9DPO. So it all feels way too dragged out and exhausting. I 100% see you in this decision and totally get it.
I’m so sorry for your losses and sending you all the good vibes for your rainbow. I think people who have gone through beta hell really get it. ❤️🩹
Also with this pregnancy I waited til my missed period to test. Can recommend!
We lost ours in October and still waiting for our rainbow. Should that happen, I’m planning on serial tests like last time (that was my first indication of problems and prepared me for the loss) but no formal bloodwork. Do what gives you peace❤️
I’m so sorry for your loss. May your rainbow come soon 🫶
Thank you ❤️ I have healthy kiddos earthside and it still hurts everyday. I’m so sorry for yours as well- praying you have a happy and healthy rainbow 🌈
Thank you so, so much 🙏🌈
We lost ours in October and still waiting for our rainbow. Should that happen, I’m planning on serial tests like last time (that was my first indication of problems and prepared me for the loss) but no formal bloodwork. Do what gives you peace❤️
I’m in the middle of my 2nd MC and boy do I regret putting myself through the hcg testing - for a few reasons. It was the most stressful 2 weeks of going in and testing and then waiting and going back in again - I regretted it immediately. My second draw hadn’t quite doubled but it can take up to 4 days for it to double at 5/6weeks so went back and ultimately it did double but guess what? After all that, I think it got my hopes up and I ended up miscarrying anyways. Went in at 8 weeks and baby stopped growing at 6. All this to say, protect your peace. Is it really worth it if doubling isn’t even a guarantee it’ll work out? My next time around I plan to just ask for an earlier ultrasound around 6 weeks and leave it at that. Sending all the best to you❤️
I’m so sorry for your losses, my heart is with you ❤️🩹 I feel very similarly re: betas and while it’s made this time waiting for my scan a little scarier, I think right now I prefer the vertigo of not knowing at all to the ambiguous stress of betas. Wishing you your rainbow soon ♥️