Enlarged Yolk Sac

[sshekane]

Here is our story:

My wife and I used Clomid to help conceive. My wife just turned 35 in October and I am 29. We had a miscarriage in January and a host of other health issues throughout the year but we were finally able to conceive during the second week of October.

Everything was going smoothly until about week 5. We received a message at home (on our wedding anniversary!) that the hcg level dropped from about 4,000 taken on a Friday to something like 832 when measured on the following Monday. After a sleepless night, we go in to the doctor's office the next morning and they realize that the lab made a mistake and inserted a decimal in the number they gave over the phone, so instead of 832 it was really 8320. So that's one bullet dodged! All the ultrasounds and tests to this point were normal.

Week 7 we go to the high risk OB and a vaginal ultrasound is being performed. The technician is telling us everything looks great, the heart is beating over 140bpm, baby measures 11mm, etc. We're getting ready to leave when the doctor walks in and tells us that the yolk sac looks too big and to come back the following week for another ultrasound. I almost felt as if we were being sent away without an explanation of what's going on. Little did he know I'm the most annoying and involved patient on earth. I asked him what it meant and he said the large yolk sac is a sign that usually points to a pending miscarriage. We weren't told the size of the yolk sac or any other details.

We get home and immediately start searching the internet and find that an enlarged yolk sac is a sign of chromosomal abnormality or pending miscarriage. It was heart breaking. We went back for another ultrasound the following week and were told the yolk sac hadn't grown, that it measured 8.2mm but the baby was still growing on schedule at 17mm and a heartrate of 176bpm. A week later we go for yet another ultrasound and now the yolk sac has shrunk to 5.4mm baby still growing on schedule and heartrate looks good.

We scheduled a CVS for Week 11. We h ad to go for genetic counseling first and when I asked the counselor how many other women have walked in w/ an enlarged yolk sac, she replied that we were the first, which I found a bit odd. We went for the CVS on December 14th and it actually had to be performed TWICE because the doctor didn't get a sufficient sample the first time around. It was quite painful and uncomfortable for my wife. The doctor measured the yolk sac again and he said it was 9.1mm so it had grown! We were told to wait two weeks for the results but in some instances it can come back as soon as a week.

On December 23rd we finally got a phone call with the CVS results and we were told all the chromosomes are normal! Such a huge relief and a great Christmas present. We were finally able to announce the pregnancy to our families on Christmas Eve.

We go back to the OB next week and hopefully everything progresses smoothly from this point out. I hope the yolk sac is gone at this point. All the research is so negative on this point but hopefully we, too, can buck the trend.

[kclower]

Thankyou for sharing your story! I am so sorry that you were given false info that scared you. I am praying for you, your wife and your baby.

-Kim

[kimsmithie]

I wanted to say hello and I too hope everything turns out well for you and your wife, I will be sure to keep you all in my prayers. Keep the faith and keep praying and take good care of each other.

Kim S.

[steph123]

Hi there!

My husband and I are going through the same thing. Our stories are almost identical. I was on clomid and got pregnant in mid Nov., so I am just a few weeks behind you. We went in for a 6 wk ultra sound and the dr. found a heartbeat and baby, but was concerned about the large yolk sac. it measured .59 cm. He didn't really explain anything other than that having a larger yolk sac is not good. We left really confused and upset. We went back at wk 7 and the baby had doubled in size and the heartbeat was at 135 bpm, but the yolk sac doubled too. It was measuring at .99 cm. The dr. told us that when this happens it usually won't get any larger and should start to diminish. He is still concerned, but told us to stay positive. I go back on the 2nd of January to see what is going on.

I wonder if it has anything to do with being on clomid? I will keep you updated on our progress. Please do the same.

[sshekane]

Everything turned out OK with the remainder of the pregnancy. We had a healthy baby girl on June 21, 2006 and she is about to enter preschool this September. No health problems at all. Our high risk OB did send us for a heart test on the baby while she was in the womb but that turned out OK. My wife had to be induced and went through nearly 40 hours of labor but it was all worth it in the end. Our daughter brings such joy to our lives even when she acts like a little devil as she goes through the terrible twos right now!

We also have a 9 month old son now. He was born at the end of May 2008 and he too had an enlarged yolk sac, but this time around we were so much more relaxed about it. Used Clomid again to help conceive. We did the CVS and that was normal. The CVS was a piece of cake this time around as we went to one of the best guys in the world who is at Mt Sinai in NYC (Dr. Eddleman). Wife had to be induced again. Labor was only 27 hours this time but our son is healthy and very happy.

I'm not a doctor, but my feeling is that enlarged yolk sacs may be more prevalent than people may think. For the most part, women don't have their first ultrasound until well into the pregnancy (unless you are high risk) and by that time the yolk sac may have disappeared already so you'd never know if it was large or not.

If anyone has questions or needs help shoot me a message.

[Kay]

Wonderful news! Thank you so much for updating. You are so correct. So many women are scared by the diagnosis of an enlarged yolk sac. The literature online gives women very little hope. Stories like this one give that hope back. Thank you!