What Does The Absence Of Heartbeat In The Foetal Pole During Eighth Week Of Pregnancy Indicate?

Posted on Wed, 14 Jan 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 14 Jan 2015 Answered on

Wed, 11 Feb 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : I am in my eighth week of pregnancy. The foetal pole appears in d US but there is no cardiac activity. I have been taking HUCOG 5000 from last 3 weeks and Taking Folic Acid and Sustain 300. Please let me know if its normal pregnancy. Do i have hopes of getting the heartbeat in the foetus?

Answered by Dr. Sameer Kumar (23 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
get a beta hcg test done.

Detailed Answer:
hello,
Thanks for contacting HCM
If at 8th week , still the fetal cardiac activity is not seen , then it is unlikely that it would be seen. This seems to be a chemical pregnancy .
However the best way to confirm viability of fetus is to do a serum beta hcg test today and then after 48 hrs. If there is doubling of levels in the two tests , then you can consider the pregnancy viable and can wait for a week for heart beat to start.
But if on the other hand, levels are decreasing then its a chemical pregnancy or failed pregnancy and you should contemplate abortion in supervision of your physician.
regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar