5 weeks pregnant ultrasound: Is it too early to have one?

At 5 weeks pregnant, you may have just seen a positive result on a pregnancy test. Whether your BFP (that’s “big fat positive” in TTC talk) was longed for or if it was more of a surprise, it can come with mixed emotions. Because as exciting as this moment can be, finding out you’re pregnant can also feel a little surreal. And, before too long, you may start to want reassurance that everything is OK in there. 

An ultrasound might be a tempting option to put your mind at rest. But is 5 weeks pregnant too early for a scan? What could it actually tell you about your baby at this stage? And if not now, when is the best time to get one? To find out, we speak to Flo expert Dr. Jennifer Boyle, obstetrician and gynecologist, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts, US. 

Key takeaways: 5 weeks pregnant ultrasound

• When you’re 5 weeks pregnant, it’s still too early for an ultrasound to tell you much about the health of your pregnancy. It may only reveal the gestational sac — the structure surrounding your developing baby — which can help to confirm that you are pregnant.  
• Doctors would typically only schedule a 5 weeks pregnant ultrasound if there were a medical issue (for example, if you were experiencing bleeding or abdominal pain). However, some pregnant people choose to have a scan anyway for reassurance.
• Depending on where you live, 1st-trimester ultrasounds typically happen when you’re around 12 weeks pregnant, but some doctors schedule them when you’re as early as 7 or 8 weeks pregnant. 
• You can use a pregnancy tracking app like Flo to keep up to date on what’s happening throughout each week of your pregnancy, plus what to expect.

Is 5 weeks too early for an ultrasound? 

It might not be what you want to hear if you’re in need of some reassurance about your pregnancy, but there’s not a huge amount doctors can see on an ultrasound when you’re 5 weeks pregnant. “An ultrasound at 5 weeks really can’t tell you anything about how the pregnancy is developing,” says Dr. Boyle.  

She continues, “The most [you] could hope to see is a gestational sac. This looks like a small, round sac of fluid within the uterus.” But what’s it for? The gestational sac is there to surround and protect the embryo during those first few weeks and can appear on a scan when you’re as early as 4.5 weeks pregnant. The embryo, in case you’re wondering, is the group of cells that form after fertilization and implantation have taken place. They continue to grow and eventually become a fetus (in medical terms) at around 9 weeks of pregnancy. 

Seeing the gestational sac can help to confirm that you are pregnant, but it doesn’t reveal a lot else. “It does not tell you exactly how far along you are, and it does not mean the pregnancy is viable,” says Dr. Boyle. In the 1st trimester, the viability of a pregnancy refers to whether or not it is expected to develop into a healthy baby.

The results of your scan may also be unclear. “Sometimes what looks like a gestational sac can just be a collection of blood in the uterus,” says Dr. Boyle. “Because of this, doctors will often say that they see a ‘possible gestational sac.’ We can only know for sure that it is a true gestational sac when we also see a yolk sac within it.”

The yolk sac is another structure with several important jobs, such as providing the embryo with nutrients during the early weeks of pregnancy. You may be able to see the yolk sac on ultrasound by the time you’re around 5.5 to 6 weeks pregnant. 

However, a scan won’t show any signs of the embryo itself until you’re 6 weeks pregnant at the earliest, when it may detect the fetal pole — one of the first stages of embryo growth. Six weeks is also the earliest that a scan could show the flicker of cardiac activity (a heartbeat) in your baby.

So, given how little doctors can see inside your pregnant belly at 5 weeks, doctors don’t typically schedule ultrasounds for this time. “It’s too early for an ultrasound to be helpful for routine prenatal care or pregnancy screening,” says Dr. Boyle. 

However, some people might choose to get a scan at 5 weeks anyway. “Pregnancy is a time of so much uncertainty,” says Dr. Boyle. “It is natural to want to have proof and certainty that everything is OK and will continue to be OK as soon as you know you are pregnant. Pregnancy involves waiting and a lot of ‘trusting the process,’ which humans in general are not very good at doing.”

So it’s totally understandable if you’re tempted to get a scan at 5 weeks for reassurance. But it’s important to know that it might not deliver the comfort you’re looking for. An ultrasound this early can only ever provide “a baseline look,” according to Dr. Boyle. “You may need to do another ultrasound in two weeks or so, and only then will your doctors be able to tell if things are progressing normally. The reality is that in early pregnancy, we just have to wait to really know how things are going.”

Coping with all the waiting and uncertainty in early pregnancy can be difficult, we know. But it’s possible that a scan could make you even more anxious. “It is very unlikely that there will be any emotional benefits to having an ultrasound this early, and in fact, it [may] cause more stress and uncertainty,” says Dr. Boyle. 

Take one Flo member, for example, who found that an inconclusive early scan only made her more worried. “I went for an early scan today for reassurance due to a previous miscarriage,” she shared in the app’s Secret Chats space. “I had to tell them I was 6 weeks in order to get a scan, even though I’m 5 weeks and 5 days according to my last menstrual period. The scan showed a gestational sac with a yolk sac but no embryo. The sonographer said because there is no embryo yet, I might miscarry. Or it could be that I’m too early and need to have a rescan in two weeks’ time. I’m so nervous and can’t stop thinking.” 

On the other hand, if you decide to go for it, maintaining a positive mindset and realistic expectations can help make an ultrasound scan when you’re 5 weeks pregnant a good experience. Another Flo member shares what happened for them: “I had my early pregnancy scan yesterday at five weeks and two days (according to my last menstrual period). There was a gestational sac and a yolk sac. We are 7 weeks now [and have cardiac activity]. I am so happy. I keep assuring myself I will have a healthy baby.” 

Don’t forget that while you’re waiting for your first ultrasound scan and throughout your whole pregnancy, you can use a pregnancy tracking app like Flo to keep you going with updates. You’ll know when all your baby’s milestones are and can find answers to frequently asked questions at each stage of your pregnancy.

Why get an ultrasound at 5 weeks?

While it may be too early to get a scan for complete reassurance, there are some reasons a doctor might recommend having an ultrasound when you’re 5 weeks pregnant. 

“Sometimes ultrasound is necessary very early in pregnancy due to medical problems,” says Dr. Boyle. “The most common medical problems that prompt very early ultrasound are when a person is having bleeding or abdominal/pelvic pain or both.” Bleeding with or without cramping may be a sign of miscarriage, so your doctor may want to check what’s happening via a scan. Try not to panic — bleeding in pregnancy may not always be a sign of something serious — but it can be alarming all the same, so go easy on yourself if it happens to you.

Dr. Boyle adds that a doctor may want to do an ultrasound to make sure there are no signs of internal bleeding or ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy is when a fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus, usually in one of the fallopian tubes. This means the egg cannot survive, which can be a difficult thing to experience both emotionally and physically. To prevent complications, the pregnancy will need to be ended through either medication or surgery, but your doctors will take care of you at every step. 

If you’re worried about having an ectopic pregnancy, you may feel that a 5-week scan is worth it just to rule out this possibility. However, please know that ectopic pregnancies are rare, accounting for less than 1% to 2% of pregnancies in the United States. So as hard as it can be, try not to worry about it happening to you. 

It can be scary to hear about these possibilities when you’re 5 weeks pregnant, but try to stay positive and remember that the risk of pregnancy loss drops each week you’re pregnant. If you find it impossible to stop feeling anxious about your pregnancy or have experienced a previous loss or trauma, our crisis support page has information about how to find support, services, and helplines in your area. You’re not alone, and you don’t have to keep feeling like this. 

What happens in an ultrasound at 5 weeks? 

There are two main types of pregnancy ultrasound. The first is an abdominal ultrasound, where the sonographer will move a device around your belly, which you may have seen in movies or on TV. Then there’s a transvaginal ultrasound, where they’ll insert a device inside your vagina. If you’re wondering what this feels like, rest assured, it shouldn’t cause you any pain. It may feel similar to a cervical screening, but more comfortable.

“A 5-week pregnancy ultrasound would need to be transvaginal,” says Dr. Boyle. “This provides a closer look at the tubes and ovaries, and this is important in order to make sure that a person doesn’t have an ectopic pregnancy.” 

So what will your doctor be looking for? “A 5-week ultrasound examines the uterus, and the ovaries and tubes, and looks for any free fluid in the pelvis,” says Dr. Boyle. “A normal pregnancy at 5 weeks would appear as a small gestational sac in the uterus. The gestational sac is the earliest sign of a developing pregnancy that we can see on ultrasound.”

When to schedule your first ultrasound 

Your doctor will schedule your first ultrasound appointment, also called a 1st-trimester ultrasound or a dating scan, because it confirms your due date. The exact timing of this scan will depend on your doctor and where you live in the world. In the United States, medical professionals will often schedule it for around 12 weeks, but it can be when you’re as early as 7 or 8 weeks. In the United Kingdom, it’s always around the 12 week mark, somewhere between 10 to 14 weeks. The same is true in France, whereas in Germany it’s slightly earlier, between weeks 9 and 12. Meanwhile, in Australia it’s common for women to find out their due date by ultrasound a little earlier still, when they’re 8 to 9 weeks pregnant. 

So unless your doctor wants to check out any medical issues ahead of schedule, at 5 weeks pregnant, you have a bit of a wait ahead of you before your first scan. This can be tough, but if you’re considering scheduling an early scan, it might be worth waiting another week or so. That way, there’ll be a greater chance of detecting a heartbeat  and seeing the first signs of an embryo. 

The wait for your 1st-trimester scan can feel like forever. But know that you’re in good company. Many, if not most, pregnant people find the uncertainty of the early weeks difficult. You should have your first prenatal checkup when you’re around 8 to 10 weeks pregnant, which can help to make the wait feel shorter. However, if you have any concerns or questions about your pregnancy, don’t hesitate to have a conversation with your medical team. 

A pregnancy tracking app like Flo can also help you get through the 1st trimester by breaking up the time, week by week. As well as providing regular updates on your baby’s development and how your own body is changing, with Flo you can find support from other parents-to-be via our safe and supportive Secret Chats space.