What would they do for you, if anything, at 22 weeks pregnant?

[ALittleCrisp]

If the heartbeat was going very low and they could see it was, essentially, fading away?

Would they press the red buzzer and deliver via c section? Or just leave it to stop and then induce you? I know they can't do anything for a baby at 22 weeks.

I'm wondering because I'm watching One Born every minute and a girl went in for reduced movements at 22 weeks. The heartbeat was found and was healthy so obviously I didn't find out what would happen if it wasn't fine

Viability starts at 24 weeks, you might be lucky and find a consultant willing to give steroids and admit to hospital for monitoring etc but it would be against current guidelines. She was lucky they monitored her to be honest. Most areas it’s 23 or 24 weeks before they’ll even monitor you for reduced movement.

Myname She wasn't on a monitor, they just used a Doppler from what I saw to confirm the heartbeat was there and at a healthy rate

My Are you sure they wouldn't usually even use a Doppler to put your mind at rest that the baby is still alive?

@alittlecrisp I would say it depends on the midwife and how busy they are at the time. If it was during the day then the EPU might have been able to fit her in. Generally I’ve known most people just get told that it’s normal at that stage for there to be no pattern. You’d like to think that most would check, but a handheld Doppler wouldn’t pick up the same kind of rhythms a proper monitor would so whilst yes they’d tell you baby had a heartbeat it wouldn’t raise any red flags.

Myname Oh I see, I had a loss a little earlier than that. I text my midwife and said I know it's normal because it's so small but I haven't felt any movement for a day now.

She told me to pop down to the hospital for a check and nothing (Doppler). Then a scan and that's when it was confirmed baby died.

But I think it was quite a quiet area with not a lot going on so possibly more resources

Huh? Reduced movements are only to be checked from 28 weeks onwards. If it was any earlier then I’d have been in constantly on every pregnancy because movements are pretty sporadic at 22 weeks for most people....

I'm sorry for your loss but 22 weeks is early to feel much more than flutters.

I’m so sorry OP

Yes, I often wonder this. People get very obsessive about tracking movement on pregnancy boards and I notice a lot going in at 21,22 weeks etc. I don’t really understand why because the baby is not yet viable.

Also you are told not to use a Doppler yourself as finding a heartbeat is not assurance that everything is fine, but if all the hospital will do is use a Doppler then it seems it’s just for reassurance only, there is no way of really knowing anything.

Baby movements is why I have chosen to never have another baby. I just could deal with keeping track (which I did religiously) with the idea of it not always been regular. It consumed my whole life.

@alittlecrisp I’m sorry for your loss. My DD was induced for numerous reduced movements but it wasn’t until much later in the pregnancy when a pattern was established. I’m 23 weeks pregnant and have been feeling big movements for a few weeks (second baby) but there is definitely not a pattern yet. You didn’t do anything wrong and there is very little that any healthcare professional can do for a baby before 24 weeks. Even at viability the chances of survival are slim.

Also you are told not to use a Doppler yourself as finding a heartbeat is not assurance that everything is fine, but if all the hospital will do is use a Doppler then it seems it’s just for reassurance only, there is no way of really knowing anything.

They tell you not to use a Doppler because, unless you're trained, you're most likely picking up either your own heartbeat, the sound of blood flow through the placenta, or the large vein in your abdomen (aorta?). People hear a rapid dum-dum-dum-dum and presume it's the baby when a lot of the time it isn't.

The other reason they don’t recommend a home Doppler is because, even if a baby’s heartbeat is heard, it doesn’t mean everything is ok. People have used them to reassure themselves when experiencing reduced movement and they really shouldn’t.

The other reason they don’t recommend a home Doppler is because, even if a baby’s heartbeat is heard, it doesn’t mean everything is ok.
Yes agree, so this is why I don’t get it when people say they had reduced or no movement and so a HCP checked for the heartbeat using a Doppler.... if there being a heartbeat doesn’t mean much. I know they do more thorough checks the later you are.

Cook But the Doppler can tell you what the heart rate actually is, not just if it's present or not.

I had a lot of reduced movement with my DS. Each time my midwife did have a quick check with a Doppler and was happy, but sent me up to the hospital just in case as the Doppler wasn't as accurate (this was after 28 week mark)

A midwife is trained to use a Doppler and most expectant women (unless also medics) are not. A midwife might hear an irregularity which a home user would not.

I went in for reduced movements at 22wks they just used a hand held doppler. I was in hospital for something else non pregnancy related. And mentioned id not felt baby that day (turns out it was my mind distracted by pain) but they got the midwife out to see me and doppler me.

I have no idea what they would of done if they hadnt found HB.

They said whilst they wouldnt do anything usially before 24wks for reduced movements as they can be infrequent at that point. But you know your own body. I felt movement very early on. And she was already in a well established routine by 22wks so they would never dismiss me. They would always take concerns seriously as you know your own body best.

At my hospital they ask you to come in for all reduced movements. They use a Doppler up to a certain point (can’t remember how many weeks, maybe 24?) then after that a full monitoring with the machine that prints the graph thing (no idea what it’s called sorry)