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Hearing a baby's heartbeat for the first time is one of the most exciting moments for expecting mothers and their partners. A fetal heartbeat tells the mother the baby is alive. Beyond that, a baby's heartbeat can also tell the healthcare provider a lot about the baby's health.
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A fetal heartbeat can be detected as early as the fifth week of gestation. At that time, the baby's heart tube begins to beat, although you cannot hear it. Only a vaginal ultrasound can pick it up.
However, it can be better picked up between the 6½th to 7th week of gestation. In some cases, you may not hear it till later. Depending on the medical practice and your history, your doctor may schedule your abdominal or vaginal ultrasound to assess your pregnancy around this time.
You may be asked to have an early ultrasound if you:
The ultrasound will:
Timing may vary, depending on your doctor, his medical practice, and other factors. Some doctors may ask for your first ultrasound early in the 7th to 8th week of pregnancy and then ask for another a week or two later.
At other times, your doctor may schedule your ultrasound in the tenth week. You may hear your baby’s heartbeat for the first time. However, the Doppler may find it challenging to pick the heartbeat. Don't panic. It may be that:
Give it a couple of weeks. The Doppler will be able to pick your baby's heartbeat perfectly by the 12th week of gestation. After 8 to 10 weeks, you can hear your baby's heartbeat with a stethoscope. This should be around the twentieth week of pregnancy.
It is almost impossible for the human ear to detect a fetal heartbeat. However, some women claim they hear their baby's heartbeat. This may be possible in the late second and third trimesters.
At 6 to 7 weeks, the normal fetal heart rate is between 90 to 110 beats per minute.
By the ninth to tenth week, your baby's heart rate should beat between 150 to 170 times per minute. However, this should reduce to around 140 beats per minute by week 20.
During labor, your baby's heart can beat 110 to 160 times per minute. But there may be slight variations due to several reasons, some of which are perfectly normal.
Your doctor may warn against using at-home fetal apps and devices. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also warns against using such unless you’re under the supervision of a medical professional.
These apps and devices are mostly substandard and may either not pick up a baby's heartbeat or give you an inaccurate reading, resulting in unnecessary fear and worry. Also, using some of these devices like the at-home Doppler requires training to avoid wrong readings.
Your doctor will monitor your baby’s heartbeat at each prenatal visit. If you are worried about your baby’s heartbeat, talk to your doctor. They will schedule an ultrasound and check your baby's heartbeat. If your baby's heartbeat is too fast, too slow, or irregular, the doctor may assess some others things and order more tests to diagnose the problem.
Rarely, if your baby has a heart condition, your doctor may schedule a fetal echocardiogram to examine your baby’s heart further.
A visit to us helps you get your prenatal care started while you await your appointment with your local OB doctor. Your virtual physician can help to electronically order prenatal care labs and/or send an order to the nearest radiology facility for you to get an ultrasound.
At My Virtual Physician, we are available to help guide you through your pregnancy and answer any questions that may arise. We are in-network with many insurance health plans, including Medicaid, Medicare, United HealthCare, and Blue Cross.
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Prenatal care is focused, not only on the health of the mother but also on that of the growing fetus. Fetal monitoring is an integral part of prenatal care, done in pregnancy and labor. Also known as fetal heart rate monitoring, it is a procedure carried out by trained care providers including Obstetricians, nurses, and midwives, who use instruments and devices to measure, monitor, and interpret the baby's heartbeat.
Fetal monitoring affects the lives of millions of women and infants every year in the United States. It says a lot about the health, growth, and development of your baby. We may say that your baby's heart rate is a method of communication because it is often a response to the conditions in your uterus.
The average fetal heart rate is between 110 and 160 beats per minute. If your baby is under distress, not getting enough oxygen, or is facing any other problem, the heart rate becomes abnormal with the heart beating either too fast or too slow.
Fetal monitoring is particularly helpful for women with high-risk pregnancies, that is women:
This is because these conditions affect the growth and development of the baby. The number of fetal monitoring for these women is usually around 10-15 routine monitoring per woman.
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In medical practice, fetal monitoring is carried out in one of two ways:
This method is also known as auscultation. In this method, a device or monitor is placed on your abdomen. The device amplifies the sound of your baby's heartbeat, listens to it, and records.
A common monitor is the Doppler ultrasound device. It is often used during your prenatal visits to measure your baby's heart rate.
Another external way to check your baby's heartbeat is to use a transducer or an electronic sensor belt. A transducer is kept on your belly and connected to a computer where the rate and pattern of your baby's heartbeat are displayed. The data displayed can then be printed on paper. This device is often used to continuously count your baby's heart rate during labor and birth.
As the name implies, this method of fetal heart monitoring is invasive. It can only be done if the amniotic sac (the fluid-filled bag that surrounds and protects your baby in the uterus) has broken and your cervix has dilated to at least 2cm. Your baby's scalp is reached through your cervix and a thin wire, also known as the electrode, is fastened on it.
The thin wire is connected to a monitor and data about your baby's heart rate as well as your uterine contractions will be displayed and compared. It is used when the external fetal monitoring method is not providing satisfactory results or your baby needs to be watched closely during labor.
The two methods of fetal monitoring require the physical presence of both a healthcare provider and a pregnant woman. However, this may not always be convenient and accessible, especially with the Covid-19 pandemic, physician shortages, and for women living in rural areas.
However, the advent of telemedicine in prenatal care seems to get this taken care of with remote fetal monitoring. With telemedicine, remote solutions for home fHR monitoring and signal processing technique have been developed.
Pregnant women are instructed and trained on how to use these devices and software from the comfort of their homes. Additionally, these devices have sensors, and readings are transmitted to a monitor or cloud platform of a local doctor, nurse, midwife, or obstetrician at the healthcare facility. Certain apps and software on smart devices can remind the pregnant woman when to have a fetal monitoring session, interpret the results, and state what should be done if the results are abnormal.
While the availability and application of remote fetal monitoring devices are relatively low, it is one aspect of telemedicine in prenatal care that is being looked into to solve the challenges of accessibility and availability of prenatal care.
At My Virtual Physician, we provide a wholesome prenatal care service for both you and your baby.
We provide insurance health plans including Medicaid, Medicare, United HealthCare, and Blue Cross; which shows that we care deeply for our clients.
We are available to help guide you through your pregnancy and answer any questions that may arise. To get the best prenatal care, contact us today!
