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Blighted Ovum at 42 years old

I am beyond devastated and can't stop crying. I went for the 12 w sonogram expecting to see a healthy, wiggly baby and instead was told I had a blighted ovum- the baby did not develop and there is only a small mass of cells left and an empty uterus. I had measured so big that the doctor thought it was twins! And now nothing!
I have had no cramping, no bleeding and I still "feel" pregnant and sadly look pregnant! I haven't told many people about the pregnancy so now I have to hide a belly that is not holding a baby.
Has anyone else gone through this? Could the tech be wrong? We are waiting to miscarry naturally. My numbers are still rising, though.
What are my realistic chances of conceiving again (a healthy baby) at my age after this? Is this a sign my eggs are far too old?
23 Responses
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Avatar universal
I have experienced the same thing at 46. At 1st it had to soak in that I was actually pregnant but then I felt excited and was able to except the pregnancy. I went for my 1st prenatal appointment at 7 weeks and was told that there was a sac but no baby. I felt sad and deceived all at once. The doctor gave me a choice to miscarry naturally, by pill, or dnc. I chose to do it naturally hoping that the sonogram was wrong and that the baby could be hiding in there somewhere. He had me to come back in 2 weeks and he checked again but there was no change. My friends and family knew of the pregnancy and was congratulating me without knowing the truth and that made me felt more depressed. I had baby bump and all, eventually around 10 & half weeks I miscarried after bleeding over two to three weeks. I still have regular cycles and pray that if I get pregnant again this time around it would be a viable one because going through the labor pains and got nothing in return was heartbreaking.
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Hi Mzhope.  I'm really sorry to hear this happened to you.  hugs
Avatar universal
Thank you for your encouragement. I was feeling so bad it was my age and that it would keep happening!!
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Avatar universal
Going by the measurements in your ultra sound & your dates you will b able to identify if its a blighted ovum ..
Generally speaking a blighted ovum is a fertilised egg that stops growing before 6weeks..
often ultra sound results of blighted ovum are unable to identify a yolk within the sac..which means baby stopped growin between 3-5weeks before baby has a heart beat..
Theres a view out there that blighted ovums are souls who have changed their minds with there timing of entering this world ..
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Avatar universal
Thank you for the encouragement. I ended up going into natural labor, gave birth to a sac and baby but hemorrhaged and had to be taken to the ER. They ended up, after giving me a sonogram, figuring out that I still had a lot of "stuff" left inside. I am not sure now if it was a missed miscarriage or a blighted ovum, but either way, I ended up having a D & C to stop all the bleeding and clear me out. I'm at home today, a day after surgery, in a fair bit of pain still and cramping but at least the bleeding has slowed down. After my next period, we are safe to try again which we will. I suggested IVF to hubby but he turned it down and said "what ever God decides is the way to go."
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Avatar universal
im sory to hear of your loss ..i feel your pain ..ive been exactly where you are ..its confronting it hurts & its confusing ...hugs to you hunni xoxo
Ive had a blighted ovum 4 times ..the first time in my twenties second time in my thirties & twice in my fourties ..
I have three children 21, 14 & 7 &im currently pregnant ..i have never used fertility treatment either..
So in my experience its not something that just happens when your 'old' :-)
Im 43 today & im 9 weeks pregnant ..my last blighted ovum was in april this year ,.so.i guess im proof you can fall pregnant after a blighted ovum & you can fall pregnant over 42.. Have a little faith hunni ..what will be will be xxx
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Avatar universal
Lots of women conceive at 42 but the chances are much lower than people in their teens or twenties.
Things you can do: get your hormones checked, talk early to a fertility specialist and keep healthy.
After that (and before) it's not really in your hands it's in God's or just luck depending on personal beliefs.
Fertility treatment takes time- something that is not on our side so get in early. Best of luck.
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3605625 tn?1385017548
So sorry for your loss, although rest assured, blighted ovums can happen at ANY age, i had one at 20 years old. Before i knew i had a blighted ovum, i started bleeding brown blood at 11 and a half weeks, but no cramping. I went to the doctor, and she told me not to worry about it only being brown blood so she sent me for a scan to 'ease' my worries, and thats when i found out there was no actual baby. The bleeding then started being pink, then was red by about day 4. I had a d&c to totally clean me out, which was what i wanted, and then the bleeding had stopped after about a week. I dont see any reason why you couldn't possibly conceive again, if you are a healthy 42 year old with no medical problems it certainly is possible! I had my last baby at 38 years old. Good luck you, dont give up!
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Avatar universal
Thank you for the encouragement. When you miscarried the blighted ovum, what did you experience? I'm starting to miscarry now although the bleeding and pain is tolerable. I'm wondering how much worse it can get as I have to head into work tomorrow....
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Avatar universal
one year ago today, I miscarried a blighted ovum...I was 10-1/2 weeks along.  the dr. told me blighted ovums are the leading cause of miscarriage (accounting for roughly 3/4 of all miscarriages) and has nothing to do with age...they happen randomly to women of all ages. fast forward a year, i'm now 40 yrs old & 27wks pregnant with a little boy. don't let ur age discourage u...plenty of women are having babies well into their 40's these days.  

sorry for ur loss.
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Avatar universal
Thank you so much everyone for your replies. I am finally starting to miscarry naturally, although I am waiting for a d & c to be scheduled for me. At my age of 42, I keep wondering if there is a chance at pregnancy again or if my eggs are now all old :(((
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Avatar universal
I am so very sorry, losing a baby is just heartbreaking even at such an early stage and I do understand. I am younger than you but we tried for years, did fertility treatments all failed and had one miscarriage before falling pregnant  with this one. I encourage you to see a fertility specialist as they will be able to give you an idea on the "age" of your eggs and may be able to give you some simple drugs I help you conceive!! All the best xo
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Avatar universal
I'm sorry. I had a blighted ovum. However my body had a miscarriage at roughly the 7 week mark.
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Avatar universal
Do u have fibroids??.....check i miscarried twice this year because of them.....I will have surgery and hopefully will start trying again in January.
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Avatar universal
Im so sorry for your loss, i kniw hiw you feel. I've been through this several times and have been through 3 d&c. I understand your concern, what I did with my last d&c was request a blood draw and internal ultrasound to make sure I wasnt making a mistake. I dont like them and dont know if I would ever go through one again. Ask for prayers if you're religious, it helped us a lot to have others praying for our situation. And believe in miricales, they happen all the time <3
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Avatar universal
Im so sorry!  
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Avatar universal
Thank you everyone for your prayers!!! I am having a very difficult day and time processing this. I am torn between waiting it out and a d and c as I am getting older but there's still a part of me waiting for a miracle too (which I know is unlikely but...). Today I am going to make the appointment though to start the process towards the d & c.
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Avatar universal
I meant D&C not DNC :)
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Avatar universal
Praying for you. I've never had what you had, but I did suffer a miscarriage back in Oct 2013. Everything was going great with a strong heartbeat and rising hcg but my Angel had stopped growing at 7 weeks and I found out at 10 weeks. My body continued to think it was pregnant for over a month later. I actually suffered a missed miscarriage so I too had no bleeding or cramping. I was told to let nature take it's course and not do the DNC because the scraping can damage your chances of getting pregnant quicker. I opted to take the pills to start labor. Now I'm 22 weeks pregnant with a healthy baby boy who is the same weeks gestation that my Angel would have been had he or she lived. So don't give up! I'm 36 and will be praying for you!
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Avatar universal
Really sorry for your loss. I had a D&C to speed up one of my miscarriages after it took weeks to come out "naturally" and was told I could continue on my next cycle after that. Time is so precious when trying to get pregnant although if trying naturally you can try every month at least.
I really hope you manage to get pregnant. I would consider an early scan next time so you don't go through 2 months of pregnancy before you find out things are not working and can get reassurances  they are.
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Avatar universal
Thank you very much for your responses and your prayers. I really need prayer more than anything else. I am very concerned about my age now at this point.....apparently there is a link between age and blighted ovums? Since I have to wait 1-3 full cycles to try and conceive again, I'll be 42 and a half before I can try....I worry time is so quickly slipping by and I miss the little one I miscarried so much.
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7672763 tn?1411583430
Sorry the loss of your baby. I kw how painful and difficult this is but the key is to remain positive and hopeful. I loss an ivf pregnancy of twins at 23 weeks gestation and it was very difficult.  Though I waited many yrs to try to conceive again,  I was able to naturally conceive and carry to full term. My baby is now 2yrs old and im currently 22+5 weeks pregnant again at age 43. My sister too lost a few pregnancies and she is currently pregnant at age 45. My prayers are with you that you will be able to conceive again.
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Avatar universal
I am very sorry for your loss. While I am only 36 y/o, I have also had 4 miscarriages, including a blighted ovum at age 21. My friend had 3 such losses, also in her 20's. Talk with your OB about trying to conceive again. Many women are having babies in their 40's.
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Avatar universal
Omg, Im sorry to hear about your situation, but i believe U will able to conceive Again.
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