16 week appointment - heartbeat

[kittycat01]

Hi all,

This is my first pregnancy. Does anyone know if I will definitely get to hear my baby's heartbeat at my 16 week midwife appointment? There is no mention of it in my pregnant notes/folder but friends who live in different areas of the country have said they have got to hear it! Just wanted to know whether to bring my husband to my 16 week appointment or not! Thanks in advance.

I did with both my dc. I believe it depends on the skill of the MW and the position of the baby at such a relatively early stage.

Good luck with your pregnancy.

My MW said they no longer do it here, (east of England if that helps) because it's an unnecessary worry if they can't find it, but also easy to pick up mums by accident and stop you seeking help if it's needed

It depends, in my last two pregnancies they did but they have stopped it now and only listen at your 22 week appointment (same area).

I did at my 16 week appointment I was very surprised, as I can't remember it from it from first pregnancy. The midwife had a trainee in with her and she found it, a few adjustments so took a minute or two to find. Apparently it was 138.

I wouldn't take my partner to midwife appointments, but I understand why you might your situation, it's a very short appointment, depends on his work etc I suppose.

There are no guarantees but you should be able to :)

Thanks everyone. I spoke to antenatal today and they confirmed my midwife would try and hear the heartbeat and that I should take my husband. I wouldn't take him to any other appointments but I'm just very anxious due to previous losses so would like him there for support if there is an issue.

I did but don’t know anybody else who did.

So I heard the heartbeat! I wasn’t expecting to but she asked and I said yes! She found it right away! I said can I record it for my children to hear and I did! Awww I can’t stop listening to it! She dipped my wee which needs sending off 🙄 and just asked how I was in general. Oh and blood pressure. That’s it now for 9 weeks. I have a private scan Sunday and consultant 19th aug and then scan 23rd! Xx

@kittycat01 remember that the midwife won't identify it as an issue if she can't find the heartbeat. She'll just say that she can't find it and that's it.
Please make sure you are prepared for that and don't let it cause you any anxiety. If it will make things worse then it is better to wait.
The appointment itself is more blood pressure, wee tests and making sure you are feeling OK. I'm not sure what issues with baby they look for as I think the 20 week scan is the point where they do the next baby check.
If you are relying on the heartbeat to confirm that there are no issues make sure you are going to be OK if they don't.

@bumble270 i am also in East of England and didn't hear mine at 16 week app but my friend did earlier this year who also lives here so i was a tad annoyed 🙄x

My midwife gave me the choice, she said to be prepared for us not to find it but if I thought I could cope with the worry then it was a shame to miss out on the experience. We couldn’t find it but she reassured me that was normal, got me to go back a couple of days later with the promise of a scan if she still couldn’t find it but as it turned out she found it immediately at the second appointment!

@ohdearymemumof3 oh that is annoying! I asked because I didn't realise it wasn't always done and was told no so I was a little gutted too

I guess it may also depend on the confidence of the mw maybe

I just had my 16 week appointment (I'm in Edinburgh) and mw didn't listen to the heartbeat. She said that it's still quite difficult to hear right now and if she can't find it then she would have to send the woman to triage for a scan which can cause unnecessary anxiety. She will do it at my 22 week appointment instead. All that happened today was we had a chat, a pee test and blood pressure, all of which were absolutely fine.

Did you have the appointment yet?

I had my appointment this morning and the midwife listened to the heartbeat. Everything is good! Thanks everyone for your information and advice x

Yay amazing x

I had my 16 week midwife appointment today and she asked if I wanted to hear the heartbeat.

A student midwife used the Doppler and got it straight away however baby was having none of it and kept running / hiding lol..

But what I did hear it was lovely and a nice strong heartbeat! :)