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Photograph of a transvaginal ultrasound scan that reveals a singleton intrauterine pregnancy (gestational sac) with an internal yolk sac (white circular structure partially seen to the left of midline within the gestational sac) and an embryonic pole (early embryo identified as a solid white oval shaped structure between the “+” shaped calipers). The size of the embryo at 6 weeks gestational age appears to vary considerably within the available literature, but in my practice I fairly reliably see a 3-4 mm embryo at this stage of development (if dates are known with relative certainty, such as when ovulation was triggered with medication). The fetal heartbeat normally can initially be identified as a flicker of movement (on real time scanning) within the embryonic (fetal) pole at about 6 weeks gestational age. If the fetal heartbeat is seen at 6 weeks gestational age then the woman’s chance of a spontaneous pregnancy loss is only about 5% (as opposed to an overall 20% loss rate within the general pregnant population)
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