Fetal Heartbeat?

Hi!

I had a 12 week scan a couple of weeks ago that left me a bit shocked and worried. I asked the sonographer if we get to hear the baby's heartbeat. And she said no, because it's an unnecessary medical procedure. She added that they only do that as a gimmick in American films. Errr, what's that?

What was your experience with that? Did you get to hear your baby's heartbeat? 

Not in any of my ultrasound scans no (and I had plenty extra growth scans with my 2nd in addition to the 12 wk and 20 wk) but at the midwife appointments from about 15-ish weeks they'll listen to it and you'll get to hear it.  I laughed the first time I heard my daughter's it sounds so strange!

Caveat: I am **NOT** a human doctor!!!

But, I do have some experience with ultrasonography and in my opinion (stressing that it is ONLY my opnion!), it very likely isn't actually necessary to 'hear' the heartbeat.

While using an ultrasound you can actually watch the heart beating (useful to evaluate function), and in fact during ultrasonography what you hear when you are listening to the baby's 'heart beating' is actually as a result of the doppler effect (ie the ultrasound machine is measuring the velocity of blood moving away and towards the probe creating that 'whoosh whoosh' noise...).

Another option if your ultrasonographer is not being helpful - you can always get a fairly inexpensive fetal doppler monitor off ebay!

Another option if your ultrasonographer is not being helpful - you can always get a fairly inexpensive fetal doppler monitor off ebay!

One thing I was wondering though. The sonographer said that doing that is harmful for the baby (which isn't necessarily true, I worked in IVF with pregnant ladies). But isn't the doppler the same technology they use to listen for the heartbeat? I don't really see the problem.

I had an emergency scan twice -- once at about 8 weeks and the other at about 13-14 due to some bleeding -- at two different hospitals and we heard the heartbeat both times. It was especially reassuring the second time.

I guess I just got a biased ultrasound tech. Thanks ladies!

I am confused by this...I have had 3 pregnancies and I do not remember hearing the fetal heartbeat until I saw the community midwives at (gak, I think) its 27 weeks or something! I believe they do all the measurements and check heartbeat when they do the scans. Am I missing something? I am confused by this post! Were you expecting the sonographers to have a doppler monitor?

Wow, I saw the community midwives *way* before 27 weeks!

The thing about my pregnancy is that it started in the US, we moved to the UK, then moved back to the US all during the course of it. So I had 4,5,6 and 7 week scans in the US (we had some problems conceiving, so the RE I was working with did scans each week before releasing me to general OB care at 7 weeks), had an initial scan at 9-10 weeks with the NHS which was exactly the same as in the US -- my green notes detail the heartbeat data, so we definitely heard it). Then I went home to the US for a 12-week checkup, then back to the UK. At 13-14 weeks I was walking around London with DH and a friend when I discovered some bleeding and was rushed to the hospital, where a wonderful, absolutely god-sent midwife dragged the nearest ultrasound tech up to the OB ward for me, and again we heard the heartbeat and verified that the little one was fine. Then I had my 20-week scan in the UK, and that was business as usual -- we had the 2D and 3D scan, as well as hearing the heartbeat. Again, it's all in my green notes. My visits to the midwives -- 3 in total before I went home -- also give HB data.

There was no distinguishable difference between the scans I got in the UK and the scans I got in the US, so I was quite surprised to read that hearing the heartbeat wasn't standard!

That sounds strange. They happily measured and recorded the fetal heartbeat at all my scans and midwife appointments, which included 12 wk scan, 17 wk midwife appt, 22 wk scan & 22 wk midwife appt. Midwife even commented that it's just reassuring to hear the heartbeat and know that everything sounds normal.

I'll keep you posted and ask whether monitoring the heartbeat is even considered a "medical procedure" next week...as I visit the midwife then and will also have a health visitor coming to my home for a visit. If I remember, I'll ask the docs at King's when I have another scan in 2 weeks. As far as I know I am a low risk pregnancy, so I think it's all standard procedure?

Yes, I was expecting to hear the heartbeat at the ultrasound at 12 weeks. My friends in the US have heard their baby's heartbeat at between 6-8 weeks! And at every ultrasound after that.

When I asked the sonographer if we could hear the heartbeat, she got snarky with me.

I'm so confused! I guess I just heard the fetal heartbeat on the sonographers screen. Are you meaning that the sonographer took out a doppler and listened in or just that that you could hear the heartbeat when they were scanning you!

I saw the community midwife whenever you are supposed to, I just can't remember what week that was!! With my first I saw them whenever they recommend, but because I had a miscarriage at 19 weeks, when I got pregnant with my daughter I saw a consultant and had scans every two to four weeks, so I never saw the community midwie. Lol, I can't remember when I started. Call it Mummy Brain!

I just had a brainwave...I remember at my (many) scans the sonographer does like a little recording of the heartbeat and selects a few seconds of it to record for your computer records. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

I'm so confused! I guess I just heard the fetal heartbeat on the sonographers screen. Are you meaning that the sonographer took out a doppler and listened in or just that that you could hear the heartbeat when they were scanning you!

I saw the community midwife whenever you are supposed to, I just can't remember what week that was!! With my first I saw them whenever they recommend, but because I had a miscarriage at 19 weeks, when I got pregnant with my daughter I saw a consultant and had scans every two to four weeks, so I never saw the community midwie. Lol, I can't remember when I started. Call it Mummy Brain!

I just had a brainwave...I remember at my (many) scans the sonographer does like a little recording of the heartbeat and selects a few seconds of it to record for your computer records. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

That's the problem. I never got to hear the heartbeat, the sonographer refused to do it.