We’re pregnant with baby number two! But our ultrasound showed an enlarged yolk sac; also known as Mega Yolk Sac.
Yolk sac plays a critical role in giving nutrients to the embryo. It’s where blood initially flows. The sac helps develop vital body functions like digestion, protection, and reproduction.
The yolk sac gets bigger and will be visible via ultrasound from the 5th to the end of the 10th week of pregnancy. Then it will get smaller and become undetectable after the 14th to 20th week.
The Ideal Size Of A Yolk Sac
The normal size of a healthy yolk sac is 5-6 mm. Study shows bigger sacs will highly result in miscarriage. Furthermore, there were no live pregnancies recorded for yolk sacs bigger than 7 mm.
Guess how mega our yolk sac is? 9 mm.
And the baby? Alive with a strong heart rate.
The Risks Of An Enlarged Yolk Sac
Yet we appreciate our OB-Gyne for being upfront with the risks. She discussed the possible results of our pregnancy:
There is an 80% chance that we will miscarry.
10% we will deliver to a baby with chromosomal disorders. (i.e. special child)
10% we will deliver to a healthy normal baby.
A Tough Fight So Far
Our pregnancy has been a slug fest so far and this news gave a pretty hard punch to the gut.
Round 1:
May 11, We found out we’re pregnant. (Yehey!)
Baby: 1
Opponent: 0
Round 2:
May 22, Lalaine bled heavily. Ultrasound showed a negative fetal heartbeat and a deformed gestational sac. They also found a big blood clot inside the womb which is the cause of the bleeding. OB-Gyne didn’t prescribe any medicines to keep the baby because the pregnancy is not viable. We’re already miscarrying. We are only waiting for the fetus to come out.
Baby: 1
Opponent: 1
Round 3:
May 29, no fetus came out. We went to a sonographer to check. To everyone’s surprise, the scan showed the baby’s heart beating. What’s more, the sac is also intact, and the blood clot is gone. OB-Gyne said it was a miracle! Pregnancy is now viable. (All glory to God!)
Baby: 2
Opponent: 1
Round 4:
June 13, this is when we learned about our mega yolk sac. 🙁
Baby: 2
Opponent: 2
The next round will be in July. Please pray with us for good results.
We fight by depending on God.
This is one of the toughest bouts we’re in as a couple thus far. Yet we admit all we can do now is to put everything in God’s hands. Creating life is His business, not ours.
We chose to stop all medicines and let the body decide if the pregnancy should continue or not. Our body knows how to take care of itself. It will eradicate anything harmful. As a husband, my main concern is the health of my wife.
Even so, we will continue to be diligent and do what’s necessary to make the pregnancy successful. Timely check-ups, vitamins and such. It’s still our duty as parents to take care of this unborn child.
Final Thoughts
It’s our prayer to have a healthy pregnancy and deliver a normal baby. We will remain fervent and ask God about it day and night. But if He decides otherwise, we will trust His plan. Whatever the outcome is, we know it’s the best.
To our unborn son or daughter, you are a fighter. Whoever you are, mommy and daddy love you.
Summary
Mega Yolk Sac results in miscarriage 80% of the time. But let’s do our due diligence as parents and let God take care of the rest. Fight the good fight.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 ESV
Can An Enlarged Yolk Sac Correct Itself?
Enlarged yolk-sac does not correct itself according to our OB-Gyne. It can get smaller and undetectable between the 14th and 20th week, but the risks of miscarriage and chromosomal disorders remain. Nevertheless, there are also success stories where healthy babies were born despite this condition.
Updates
July 10 — The fourth scan. They call it the Nuchal Translucency Scan, or the NT Scan. This procedure can rule out the possibility of chromosomal abnormalities. They’ll do intricate measurements of the baby’s body parts to see if there’s anything off. They’re particular with the nasal bone and the thickness of the clear space behind the neck.
Praise God, all measurements were normal. BUT they found a “mass” in the abdomen area, which is another bummer.
September 11— My wife just had her CAS — Congenital Anomaly Scan. Others simply call it the twentieth-week scan because they are uneasy with the word “anomaly.”
Despite the term, this could be an exciting day for most couples. It’s the day when they’ll learn their baby’s gender. Yet, it’s only a cherry on top, because CAS’ main aim is to ensure normal baby development.
Anyhow, here’s the report: “NO OBVIOUS ANOMALIES DETECTED IN THIS SCAN.”
Whew, praise God!
But our doctor said we need to take another scan next month, just to be sure.
October 11— We decided not to take another scan. There’s nothing we can do about it anyway. We will simply trust God’s plan for us.
December 25— Our daughter, Jrue, came out at 2.6 kilograms with a length of 50 centimeters and got a good Apgar Score of 9 and 9.
Thank you for the prayers. Everything is well, except for her left ear.
We observed a small hole at the side and a gap on the lobe.
Her pediatrician says there’s nothing to worry about. We should only watch out for the hole as it may sometimes get infected.
September 11, 2020—Exactly one year today we learned about Jrue’s gender. She’s now eight months old. All glory to God!
February 16, 2021 — Went on a house tour with this little one.
October 6, 2021 — She likes dressing up.
April 23, 2022 — She loves doughnuts.
Jan 12, 2023 — She now watches basketball with me.
November 11, 2023 — We’re in Japan, riding the train from Osaka to Kyoto. You can follow our Osaka adventure here.
Oh, my goodness. I’m so sorry you’re going through all this, but happy to see that, so far, baby is a fighter! It’s up to God and baby, and I’m glad you’re optimistic, yet prepared for the worst outcome. I’ll keep your little growing family in my prayers and heart.
Thanks Holly!
We appreciate the prayers! Thanks also for the article you sent. Little faith builders like this mean a lot to us.
God Bless!
Hi there,
I came across your post while researching my own diagnosis. I’m 7 weeks now and was diagnosed with a “mega yolk sac” of 9.2 mm during my 6w2d ultrasound. I have a follow up this Thursday and I’m just praying I have the same outcome you had! Thanks for sharing your story, it gives me hope.
Hi Julie,
I’m so sorry to hear about your condition. ? I know it’s not easy, but hang in there.
We’ll pray with you. Hoping for good news on Thursday!
God bless!
Hello! I’m so glad I found your post too. Just recently, we found out that we’re pregnant after having a miscarriage last year. During my last ultrasound at 7w6d, we found out i have a mega yolk size at 9.2mm. Aside from having a mega yolk sac, we found out that i have a subchrionic hemorrhage, that’s why i am now on bed rest. I will have my followup this December, at 12weeks. i’m praying for the same positive outcome and result same as yours. And Yes, we are thankful that you shared your story and this gives hope to people like us who are going through the same thing. Please do include us in your prayers. ❤️
I’m so sorry to hear about this Melda. 🙁 Lalaine and I totally understand what you are going through.
Stay strong. We’ll be praying with you. God is always good, no matter what the situation is. ♥️♥️♥️???
Please keep us posted if you can! Happy New Year!
This means a lot. Thank you.
Unfortunately, at 11weeks, i had a miscarriage and went through d&c.
We were devastated but still hopeful about the future. Maybe it’s not yet our time.
We are thankful to the Lord for the short period I carried our baby. and much more thankful for the strength God has given me and my family.
Happy New Year to you and your family too! Godbless.
I’m so sorry to hear about this Melda. 🙁
We’ll be praying with you. Your grateful heart despite of what happened is a powerful testimony. Keep it up!
Happy New Year to you as well!
Thank you for sharing. Mine is measuring 11mm and I needed a little bit of hope.
So sorry to hear Chaya. 🙁 Praying with you.
Hello Sir/Madam, I’m a 27 y old female in my 13th week of pregnancy. I was diagnosed with enlarged yolk sac of 10mm in 9th week of pregnancy. The NT scan and NIPT done in 12th week show low risk.
However I’m very worried about abnormalities and other mental disorders like autism etc due to enlarged yolk sac. Ever since I saw you post, I’m hopeful. How’s your baby doing ? Is she perfectly healthy in all ways. Please help me, I’m very anxious to know.
Hello Harshi,
I’m so sorry to hear. 🙁
Yes, by God’s grace, she’s doing very well. She’s already 1 year and 2 months.
We’re praying with you. Please don’t lose hope!
Jed
I was just diagnosed with a yolk sac of 7.2mm. I’m going for another ultrasound next week but the doctor is not hopeful at all. Reading your post has given me so much hope. Thank you for writing about this.
Thanks for the comment Sakshi. I’m sorry to hear about this. 🙁
I hope things went well. We’re praying with you!
Hi there, I just wanted to let you know that I was very comforted by your story as we were diagnosed with a 9mm yolk sac as well back in December. Fast-forward to now…the the NIPT test came back negative for chromosomal abnormalities but the 20 week scan showed enlarged echogenic kidneys. At 28 weeks a scan with the MFM doctor came back with good news and this past week, another scan confirmed for the doctor that we have a healthy baby boy. We have 7.5 weeks left until his expected arrival and we can finally exhale. There are many prayer warriors who have been diligently praying throughout this pregnancy and there is no doubt that all the glory goes to God! Knowing that He is in control gave us so much comfort, no matter the outcome. We are anxiously awaiting this sweet boy’s arrival. Congratulations on your precious, healthy girl!
Amen! Thanks for sharing your wonderful story, Carolyn!
We hope to hear more good news moving forward. God is always good. 🙂
I am currently going though this. I had my first ultrasound at 6w4d but embryo measured 3 days smaller. Heartbeat was also in the lower end 95 and enlarged yolk sac of around 5mm already. He said it was more so I don’t know exactly how big. I am going back in this week for a second ultrasound. So stressful.
Hi Laura,
Thanks for sharing. I’m so sorry to hear about this. 🙁
Stay strong. Despite the bad start, we got good results during our 20th week scan.
Please keep us posted. We’re praying with you.
Hi Jed and Lalaine,
Thank you for sharing this hopeful story.
I am now 7w2d and was diagnosed with mega yolk sac (9mm) and Sub-chronic hemorrhage at my ultrasound (6w6d). Me and my husband understand the risk we are facing but reading your story gives us hope. We will have a follow up scan at my 10 week (after Easter break) and hopefully everything will be okay by then. What a victorious journey that you had with the baby and your family. I am glad that everything is well and hopeful that the same positivity will come to ours.
I am now collecting prayers from everyone, I believe that like you wrote, creating lives is God’s business, not ours. We can only pray and let Him do the rest.
Say my hello to your family and the miracle baby. I hope she keeps growing well and healthy.
Regards from Auckland, NZ
Nurul and Timothy Sterling
Hello Nurul and Timothy,
Thank you for sharing your story. Yet, I am so sorry to hear about this. We’re praying with your family.
Sorry for the late response. I hope everything went well.
Thanks for your kind words. All glory to God!
Keep in touch.
Hey there. I know your post isn’t recent. But I came across it on my research. I’m currently 8 weeks pregnant. Had my first ultrasound this last week and it showed a yolk sack of 10mm. Not what I wanted to hear. I just really wanted my story out there so that I could have some prayers too. I go for another ultrasound on 9/20, to verify the baby is still there I suppose. Worst feelings ever.
Hi Ashlee,
Thanks for sharing, and I am sorry to hear about the condition about your pregnancy. Sorry also for not being able to respond soon enough. I hope everything went well.
Hi! Any updates on how your daughter is doing?
Thank you!
Hi Krista,
Thanks for asking. She’s doing amazing. Praise God! We celebrated her 4th birthday last December.