Oh Beta Madness

We received an email today from the clinic.  Does anyone else feel like it’s Christmas when you have news from SCI? Our surrogate mother and baby are doing well, and with one PHEW we are having a single baby (one gestational sac). I love the idea of having two babies, but better yet I love the security of our little one having one cozy uterus for him or herself…as well as the safety of a singleton pregnancy for our lovely surrogate.  

JJJJJJBut we are having a babyJJJJJJ

The ultrasound is scheduled for next week to confirm its little heartbeat.

But I was concerned about the high beta number and having a single gestational sac.  My research shows that a high beta number could mean:

• Multiple pregnancy (scratch that)

• Down Syndrome (Scary)

• Molar pregnancy (Scary)

• Multiple embryos tried but failed to implant

• Healthy pregnancy with lower risk of miscarriage

Ooh, I like the last one - that’s the one I’ll take please….

A study was done in Australia (another reason to add to the “why Australia is awesome” list) by G. Homan, S. Brown, J. Moran, S. Homan, and J. Kerin of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Adelaide. You can read the study abstract at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10685527 if you’re interested.

Anyways, they concluded that Beta rates higher than 500 in a single pregnancy at 16 days post ovulation (or 16 days after egg retrieval) have a 95% chance of an ongoing pregnancy.

Well that is enough for me to celebrate! ** Cheers**