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Hearing the heartbeat
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Anonymous
| To the OP-- I think a lot of responders that are saying they "heard" the heartbeat at 8 weeks (or earlier) are referring to seeing it on the ultrasound. I know my doctor would not even TRY to pick it up on Doppler that early. Through a sophisticated ultrasound you can see it at 6-7 weeks, if your dating is accurate. |
Anonymous
| We had our first u/s at 5w6d and we saw and heard the heartbeat. The transvaginal u/s has a doppler built in. The heart rate was 102bpm. So yes, we "heard" the hearbeat early on. I don't know when you can hear it on an abdominal doppler since I am not that far along yet. |
Anonymous
| With a doppler we did not hear it at 10 weeks, but then we did hear it at 12 weeks. |
Anonymous
My apologies if I wasn't clear, my point was that before (approx) 12 weeks you need ultrasound technology. |
Anonymous
Not true. I had an ultrasound at 8 weeks and I HEARD the heartbeat in addition to seeing it. The doc. even said to me "Hear that sound?" and I said "What is it?", he answered "the heartbeat". |
Anonymous
You are still confused and not understanding the common terminologies. When one says "hear" the HB, they are referring to the doppler. What you heard and saw, was through an ultrasound (probably internal). It is IMPOSSIBLE to hear through a doppler at 8 weeks, the fetus is behind the pubic bone at that time and the pubic bone completely blocks out the sound. The only way to "hear" it is through an internal untrasound. This is because vaginally you have access to the fetus, because the pubic bone is not blocking the view/sound of the HB. The reason why doctors don't try using the doppler is because normally the fetus emerges from behind the pubic bone around 10-11 weeks. After that point in time, it depends on the thickness of the layer of fat you have and the position of the baby if you can even hear is at 12 weeks. |
Anonymous
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FWIW, the OP didn't specify how she expected to "hear" the heartbeat, only that her doctor told her 12 weeks. I don't think it's a given that "hear" refers to the doppler. We don't even know if the doctor said, "not until 12 weeks" or if the doc was like, "we'll be able to hear it at 12 weeks," which could imply "not until" or just be in reference to what will happen at her next appointment.
I think the OP's question has been answered - depending on the technology used, you can hear (with your ears) the heartbeat as early as 6-7 weeks. So if the doctor categorically said you couldn't hear a heartbeat until 12 weeks, that would be wrong. Given this truth, the doctor was probably referring to the doppler. If she categorically said you couldn't hear the heartbeat until 12 weeks with a doppler, she'd still be wrong. I'm the one that heard the heartbeat on a doppler at 10.5 weeks. I'm 100% sure it was a doppler. I've had five sonograms, and know the difference. I also had all my sonograms at a separate office, so I'm not just mis-remembering either. And that 10.5 week appointment was also on my wedding anniversary, and one of the only appointments my husband went with me - he got to hear the heartbeat as well. It was a nice thing to hear on our anniversary. If you want to get all a/v nerd about it - both doppler and sonograms are considered to be ultrasonography b/c they both work with sound waves. The sono"gram" refers to the images you see on a monitor. The sonogram machines that they use in doctors office are usually modern enough to also transmit audio. |
Anonymous
| As an OB I can tell you that when we refer to hearing a heartbeat, we are referring to the doppler. The poster is correct, the baby does not move from behind the pubic bone until after 10 weeks, and then detecting an actual HB between 10-14 weeks has a lot to do with the position of the baby and the fat layers. The thinner the mother the easier it is to find the HB. |
Anonymous
Be that as it may, it seems clear from all the posts that patients don't necessarily use the word "hear" to mean doppler. Hearing is hearing, and most of us don't care how the sound is transmitted. |
Anonymous
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ok.....well i just went to my second prenatal appointment monday and we couldnt hear the heartbeat with the doppler. We moved to another room, hooked up with the sonogram and everything was a-OK. We heard and saw the heartbeat. I miscalculated my LMP and found out I was only 10 w 3d. when i was first on the doppler, i got visably nervous and my doctor told me then, that sometimes it is difficult to hear the heart beat with that machine until 12-13 weeks. Many things can play a role, position of the baby, strength of the batteries, mothers weight. and that a sonogram usually clears that right up.
every woman and pregnancy is different. and some of you are being extreme with thinking that what your case is should be the case for all others. |