Baby's heartbeat

[FlirtyThirty]

I'm 12+6 and have not yet herd my baby's heart beat...I have had my booking in appointment, 12wk scan and blood test, and at no point has anyone listened to the heart beat...is this normal? I'm really keen to hear it myself?
I have been resisting getting a doppler (scared I panic if I can't find anything!) but wonder if I should just go ahead now...

My next appointment is not until 21wks.

Flirty x

[tinkisgoingtohaveapumpkin]

i had a midwife appoinment @ 11 weeks and she couldnt find hb.
think it is very normal for them not to find it so early on
i bought an angel sounds doppler it is fantastic
heard beans hb from 14 weeks with it would definetly reccomend it i got it from babymad.com.
we listen to babys hb every week with it very reasurring
it is so easy to find hb and very clear

[newmomma]

no-one even checked to see if they could hear the heartbeat until my 16 week midwife appointment - is 21 weeks definately your next appt?
i wouldn't worry - its quite hard to pick up on at such an early stage anyway.
i also bought a heart listening monitor (summer, i think it's called) but it says not to use until 21 weeks - i struggled to hear anything for a couple of weeks even after that - but did manage it in the end.

[FlirtyThirty]

Thanks ladies...and yes newmomma...next appointment is my 21week scan. Seems like a long time to wait...not that I particularly need any care at the moment.

[gingerninja]

yes, very difficult to hear at this stage so you'd probably be more worried listening for it and hearing nothing. I briefly heard mine at 14 weeks but it was very brief and very hard to locate. Much easier at 17 weeks plus

[mrsboogie]

the midwife may not be able to hear it until around weeks 12-16. Also - Dopplers at home are great for reassurance (especially if baby has gone quiet for a while) but don't start using one too early as it can be hard to find the heartbeat and you will scare the bejaysus out of yourself if you can't. The problem I found was once we started listening for the hb if we couldn't find it we would panic and wouldn't be able to stop looking till we had found it.

[dan39]

There are also lots of other threads here re them being hard to use for some people so if you are prone to being anxious it might make it worse!!

I have a lovely GP and rubbish midwives, (who I never see) so when I saw GP at 14 weeks she encouraged me to come to her to hear hb if I needed reassurance, and that's what I have done, and it is lovely to hear! I was mega anxious as had had a mmc, the Gp was really nice about it. ANYWAY I decided not to get doppler on the basis of what I read here which was lots about it being difficult to find.

[PictureThis]

Usually, you should see your midwife or GP every 4 weeks. This is to check your urine, blood pressure and to check that your baby is growing properly. Make an appointment to see the midwife soon and she will have a listen in to the heartbeat for you.