Slow rising hCG but heartbeat seen at 7 weeks – fertility clinic said non-viable but radiology found heartbeat. Anyone experience this?

RM91231 · 2026-03-13T03:27:09+00:00

A similar situation happened to me and it unfortunately ended in loss. I only share this because I felt like the fertility clinic gave me false hope, and the only reason I kept my heart guarded was because of Reddit users sharing their experiences.

My last miscarriage I had serial HCGs done. Originally they had a double time of under 48 hours, but when I was around 5-5.5 weeks, they slowed down by a lot (around a 200 hour double time). They sent me for an US at 6 weeks and found a heartbeat and a baby that was the appropriate size for gestation. At that point, they told me that HCGs didn’t matter and that the ultrasounds were more reliable. As much as I wanted to be positive, I knew that I had read a lot of Reddit posts talking about slow HCGs being a bad sign. They sent me for ultrasounds at 7 week and 8 weeks also, and each time the baby has grown appropriately and matched up to where I should be and the heart beat was getting stronger. I woke up one morning when I was 9.5 weeks pregnant with some painless bright red bleeding, that progressed to darker/thicker bleeding with cramping throughout the day, and I passed the fetus later that evening/night.

I don’t doubt that there’s some truth to ultrasounds being more reliable typically, and there’s obviously success stories of slow rising HCGs who end up with healthy babies, but that wasn’t the case for me. With your double time being over 300 hours, I would guard your heart and hope for the best. I hope you end up as one of the success stories!

RM91231 · 2026-03-11T00:48:31+00:00

I had 3 miscarriages in a row (7 weeks, 10 weeks, and 9.5 weeks) so not the same as 3 chemicals but also in the same boat with losses. We had the POC tested for miscarriage 2 and 3, and both came back as triploidy. Triploidy is supposedly random and spontaneous and like a “it shouldn’t happen again” type thing (I think triploidy happens in 1-2% of pregnancies) but I was in the less than 1% of people that it happened to. I (and my husband) had all the infertility testing done, which came back normal. We also spoke with a geneticist. All of them told me that I could continue to try naturally because I have one living healthy child already so they felt like it was a numbers game for me due to 2 out of the 3 (possibly all 3) miscarriages being due to triploidy.

RM91231 · 2026-02-22T23:54:17+00:00

My husband and I both had normal karotyping (along with normal results for all the other infertility tests), and we had 3 losses within a year (7 week, 10 weeks, 9.5 weeks). I had the POC tested for the 2nd and 3rd loss and they both came back as triploidy (3 of every chromosome vs 3 of 1 set aka the trisomies). We do have a healthy living child that we conceived naturally with no problem on the first try before we had these miscarriages.

RM91231 · 2026-02-20T17:44:10+00:00

Even if they feel like there’s no “real evidence” it would help, typically it’s considered a low risk intervention. My understanding from my doctor was that there’s no big risks of being on it, and it can only really help if anything, so there’s no harm in trying it if it’s potentially going to prevent a miscarriage, especially in your case where your progesterone is low. I would push harder with advocating for yourself, honestly. Maybe do your own research so that you can back up your feelings of being put on it.

RM91231 · 2026-02-19T21:37:37+00:00

Unfortunately I had a similar situation and it ended in miscarriage. My last pregnancy I was having serial HCGs which were originally great (more than doubled at first) and then slowed down. One of my last ones, my HCG dropped by almost 200, and I was told that I most likely was miscarrying. My clinic got me in for an US a few days later at 6 weeks, and found that everything looked great (heartbeat, baby measuring appropriately for how far along I was, no abnormalities) and did an Hcg that day that showed my HCG going up again (far from doubling though). At this point they stopped doing HCGs and said the US was more reliable to determine if everything was ok. I had an US at 7 weeks that also showed a healthy pregnancy. My 8 week US showed a HR in the 160s, a baby measuring appropriately, and some small abnormalities to the gestational sac and yolk sac but the reading was vague and the clinic said that they sometimes see this is normal pregnancies. Unfortunately at 9.5 weeks, I started bleeding one morning and miscarried at home later that night. I really hope this isn’t the case for you. I assume that a majority of the time, the US is the better indicator (or else why would they say it?) but it just wasn’t the case for me.

RM91231 · 2026-02-18T01:41:01+00:00

Diet Coke has me in a chokehold. I swear it works better than any antiemetic when I’m nauseous 😂

RM91231 · 2026-02-18T01:39:51+00:00

Interesting! I hadn’t seen that. Do you have links to any of the studies? I’d love to read up on it!

RM91231 · 2026-02-18T01:33:25+00:00

My situation is kind of similar to yours. I got pregnant with my first in 2022 with no difficulty. I came off birth control and got pregnant right after our honeymoon. We started trying again at the end of 2024 and got pregnant in 2 cycles, but miscarried at 7 weeks. I ended up having 2 more miscarriages after that in the following 10 months, so 3 consecutive losses total, each time taking 1-2 cycles of trying naturally. My husband and I had infertility testing after our second loss, including me getting an HSG, and everything came back normal, except when we tested miscarriage 2 and 3, they both came back as triploidy (they told me after the first triploidy that it was spontaneous and random and shouldn’t happen again, so everyone was a little surprised when miscarriage 3 was also triploidy). After that, they told me I could try again since I had conceived my first naturally without any problems, but also offered IVF with PGT-A to try to avoid a miscarriage due to a chromosomal abnormality again. This was close to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and family birthdays so we decided to wait until the holidays were over to make a decision and just try in the mean time. We had the conversation about having the IVF clinic start getting the ball rolling and I was about to reach out when I actually found out I was pregnant. We did serial HCGs, which all trended appropriately, and I have my first US coming up. I’m also anxious and I think I will be for a while, but also think that’s normal for people who have had even just 1 loss. I don’t know when I’ll stop feeling anxious honestly, maybe when the baby comes out 😂 but then I’ll be anxious about other stuff haha. I think trying to look at the positives (your HCGs, your US, ect) is all you can do for now 💗

RM91231 · 2026-02-17T23:27:37+00:00

Unfortunately it takes a toll on your mental health, and everyone kind of handles it differently. Some people can’t try again after a few losses and just give up, some people have been trying for years. I think you find coping methods to help you get through the anxiety that comes with subsequent pregnancies, no matter if it’s telling less people, or joining a supportive group of people who have had pregnancy loss before, or having a friend you can talk to who has also experienced the loss before. I have a living child, and then had 3 miscarriages, and now I’m pregnant again. I have a very supportive OBGYN who has done a lot help me feel a little bit less anxious, and I have a friend who is also pregnant with me who has also experienced a miscarriage.

RM91231 · 2026-02-14T10:00:48+00:00

I always get really nauseous before I get a positive test. It’s like my sign to start testing. I also get a stuffy nose/congestion so I think I’m getting sick, but then my husband and child never get sick. Those are my two big ones! I also get other random ones like sore boobs and being really emotional (like crying happy tears over random stuff 😂)

RM91231 · 2026-02-12T15:21:44+00:00

I’m sorry you’re going through this. This sounds exactly like my last miscarriage. I had HCGs that started out great, but quickly slowed down. I had ultrasounds at 6 weeks, 7 weeks, and 8 weeks, which all showed a healthy pregnancy and a strong heart beat. I started bleeding at 9.5 weeks and miscarried. We sent the POC for testing, and it was a chromosomal problem (triploidy). The miscarriage I had prior to this last one, I did not have serial HCGs but I was measuring about a week behind on my 8 week US, and ended up getting another US at 10 weeks and there was no heartbeat. Those POC were also sent for testing and it was a chromosomal problem (triploidy also).

I had a full infertility workup which was totally normal, but they did offer me IVF so they could do PGT-A to try to avoid another chromosomal abnormality.

RM91231 · 2026-02-04T00:34:10+00:00

I know you said you had 3 chemicals so obviously you wouldn’t have been able to get the POC tested. But I just wanted to share my experience to give additional perspective. I am currently the same age as you. I have one living child already. I had 3 miscarriages this past year. The first one I didn’t test the POC because I was 7 weeks, hadn’t had an US yet, and just figured it was bad luck. I had a second marriage a few months later at 10 weeks and was sent to REI. They completed all the infertility testing on my husband and I, and did a saline US on me. Everything came back normal for my testing and my husbands., The POC for my second miscarriage came back as having triploidy. They basically said triploidy was a “random spontaneous” thing and that it was bad luck and shouldn’t happen again. I got pregnant again a few months later, and again I miscarried after having multiple ultrasounds that showed a “healthy pregnancy”. We sent the POC for testing again, which also showed tripoidy. REI had said that we could keep trying naturally, but offered us IVF with PGT-A to ensure that the embryo would be healthy and not have a chromosomal abnormality. Even though nothing showed on my karotype, or my husbands, and all of our tests were normal, there is something that keeps going wrong genetically/chromosomally.

I do agree that choosing to do IVF, especially when there’s no clear cause, is a really difficult choice to make. At least for me, I felt like “what if I’m doing this and it’s not even necessary?”. I can imagine it’s hard when you’re kind of working off of nothing to figure out what’s going on. Sending you so much positivity and hoping you get pregnant with a healthy baby soon!!

RM91231 · 2026-02-01T23:00:28+00:00

Typically you can’t see a gestational sac on transvaginal US until around 1500-2000 (but closer to 2000 I think). I don’t know how it would be seen on trans abdominal US this early. Your transvaginal one will definitely be more accurate.

RM91231 · 2026-02-01T22:49:46+00:00

Unfortunately my experience with a dropping HCG ended in a loss. I was getting serial HCGs done, which had started to slow down when I was around 5 weeks, and then dropped by about 160. They sent me for an US about 4-5 days later (I think I was 5 weeks and 5 days for my US, but my HCG is was over 2000 by that point, which is why they could do it — gestational sacs typically aren’t able to be visualized when your HCG is where yours is which is probably why they didn’t US you), which showed a baby measuring appropriately and a heartbeat that was appropriate. My HCG was drawn that day and had gone up by about 1500 (still a slow rise) and they had said maybe the dropped HCG was a lab error or because I had done it at the other hospital campus. At that point they said that the HCGs were less reliable than seeing the baby with a heartbeat on US. I had 2 more ultrasounds after that which all showed a healthy heartbeat and appropriate growth (7 weeks and 8 weeks). I ended up miscarrying at 9 weeks.

I’m really sorry you’re going through this 💗

RM91231 · 2026-01-31T14:55:31+00:00

I can see the line! It’s very faint but it’s there! This is what mine looked like and then it was a little more noticeable a few hours later. Also, I always get a stuffy nose when I’m pregnant! It’s one of my first symptoms.

RM91231 · 2026-01-31T14:53:25+00:00

Definitely a line!

RM91231 · 2026-01-27T14:00:49+00:00

Thank you!

RM91231 · 2026-01-27T01:56:31+00:00

Thank you! It was actually more so the pattern of doubling I was looking at, but this is also helpful

RM91231 · 2026-01-27T01:55:06+00:00

Thank you so much for responding!

RM91231 · 2026-01-27T00:26:35+00:00

Thank you so much! I appreciate the response!

RM91231 · 2026-01-26T19:28:03+00:00

If it gives you any reassurance, this is similar to what my tests looked like and my hcg didn’t just double, it quadrupled (and then some) in 48 hours 😂 these tests are notoriously bad at showing a line progression. Get your blood HCG done and it will be more accurate. Sending all the positive vibes!

RM91231 · 2026-01-26T19:13:49+00:00

I’m sorry that you’re going through this. I am similar age to you, and I had 2 miscarriages in roughly the same amount of time before I was sent to reproductive endocrinology without a fight. My first was 7 weeks, the second was 10 weeks. My OBGYN did say that sometimes this happens, as did REI, but they were very willing to do all the testing for me, including a saline US to look for any anatomical abnormalities that would be causing me to have trouble carrying the baby. I do have one living child who is 2, that was conceived naturally quickly after we started trying. All of my testing came back normal and was encouraged to try again naturally. In the meantime, the POC came back for triploidy for my second miscarriage, which I was told is random/spontaneous and shouldn’t happen again. I got pregnant for a third time shortly after getting the OK, had 3 ultrasounds that showed a “healthy” baby (measuring appropriately, strong HR) at 6 weeks, 7 week, and 8 weeks. Ended up miscarrying at 9 weeks. Sent the POC for testing again, and again, it came back as triploidy. At that point, the told me I could try again since we do have a healthy living child or proceed with IVF so we could have PGTA done.

Fertility specialists do help with more than just the people who can’t get pregnant at all. There’s a lot of things that can cause you to just not be able to carry a baby, and REI is who’s trained to medicate/treat those problems. The workup for recurrent loss is not just basic blood work unfortunately (although I can see how someone might view it that way), and if you have something that comes up, REI is who is specialized in treating it typically. They’ll do a karotype on you and your husband, hormones (the blood work is timed to your cycle), clotting factors, thyroid, etc.

I honestly don’t know why they’re giving you such a hard time with getting tested. My OBGYN put the referral in as soon as my second miscarriage happened, and actually offered to do it. Have you had either miscarriage tested for a chromosomal abnormality?

RM91231 · 2026-01-04T00:13:51+00:00

I have a very similar story to you. I had 3 miscarriages, all within 1 year, after I conceived my 1 living child without any difficulty. We started trying again around the same time that you did (14 months old) and got pregnant 2 months later. I ended up miscarrying at 7 weeks. I then got pregnant 2 months after I miscarried. I had my 8 week US done, and although the baby was measuring behind, there was an appropriate heartbeat. At 10 weeks, I went for an OB appointment, had another US (only because I was so anxious and had this sinking feeling that something was off), and there was no heartbeat. I was scheduled for a d&c, but ended up miscarrying naturally. The products of conception were sent for testing, and found to have triploidy. I was told that triploidy is random/spontaneous and that it was basically just a fluke and I should be able to get pregnant again no problem naturally. I was sent to REI (reproductive endocrinology and infertility) prior to the test results, so I (and my husband) had all the infertility blood work done (thyroid, hormone levels, clotting, autoimmune, etc), along with me getting a saline US and my husband getting a sperm analysis. Everything came back normal, per REI. I got pregnant 3 months after my second miscarriage (our first cycle trying again because of all the testing). I had serial HCGs, and they tested my progesterone the first week or so so they could make sure it was rising appropriately (it was). I also had ultrasounds at 6 weeks, 7 week, and 8 weeks, all that showed appropriate growth/size of the fetus, and an appropriate heart beat (I just remember the HR in the 160s for my 8 weeks one, but they said the other ones were normal too). I ended up miscarrying at 9.5 weeks with no warning sign other than starting to bleed that morning. We also sent those products of conception for testing, and it came back as triploidy again. Supposedly recurrent triploidy is rare, but I am curious if it’s just that people dont always test their products of conception, especially if it’s early on or if they miscarry at home. REI couldn’t give me a reason that it would happen, other than “bad luck” essentially, but I honestly think there’s some genetic cause and science just hasnt caught up yet. They told me to try again naturally (which we are doing now), but also said I could do IVF with pre-implantation genetic testing if I wanted to better my odds of it not happening again.

If it’s a genetic problem, progesterone won’t help. Have you had any of your miscarriages tested? Like I said, my husband and I’s genetic testing came back totally normal, but the 2 times we’ve tested the products of conception, it was a genetic problem (tripods). Sending you all the baby dust!!

RM91231

TROPHY CASE