Did anyone get to hear baby heartbeat at 16 weeks

[Sazzy312]

just had my midwife appointment and I asked about listening to heartbeat but she said they dont do it anymore as still very small and if they couldn't find it it would panic mums, but I just wondered if this was a local thing or a new thing as I've read loads of women saying they heard the heartbeat, I just feel its such a long time to wait till the 20 week scan to know everything is alright

Count yourself lucky you had a face to face midwife appointment! I won’t have seen a midwife since booking in to 28 weeks....
Their explanation does make sense.

I asked the same and was told the same as you. My midwife let me listen with a Doppler at 25 weeks

I heard heartbeat at a 20 week private scan. But wasn't until my 24 week app with the midwife that I heard the heartbeat. I think it just depends on the trust.

I bought one of those angel sounds things and could hear it from 17 weeks. Sometimes it took a while to find, which made me nervous!, but I used to love lying down in bed and listening to it. It was only about £20.

25 weeks I had a doppler with my DS. Id imagine it would be difficult to find the heartbeat at 16 weeks.

I heard ours at (I think) 17 weeks but this was for medical reasons. Please don't invest in a home Doppler as these can pick up your own heartbeat or even the blood flowing around the cord and can cause anxiety. They're not recommended by Midwife's for reason.

Just a few more weeks and hopefully you'll get the chance

Mine did do heartbeat at 16 weeks but it took her a while to find it and he moved so quickly too, so I could understand why some areas may say they dont until later.

With my 2nd DC they said guidance had changed and they didn’t do the Doppler at 16 weeks anymore. However she asked if I would still like her to have a try and so she had a go and could find it easily.

Mine did, but reluctantly! I don’t think she wanted to.

They did at mine

Even at a midwife appointment at 30 weeks last week my midwife struggled to find the heartbeat because of baby's position. She could only hear the heartbeat through the cord until baby moved and she could get behind their shoulder. If it has to be that specific for a baby that size, I would imagine it would be difficult to get the right position at 16 weeks when baby is still quite small. I know it's worrying but just hang in there for your 20 weeks scan, it'll come around before you know it!

Ah thanks for your replies glad I wasn't the only one missing out on the chance to hear it, yea I would be too anxious with the home kit so I'll just wait to the scan, I dont know why I'm so worried about baby dieing I think maybe cause I've read a lot of sad stories lately so trying to keep postive, yes @peachypetite I was lucky to have a face to face appointment

I did but I know that a lot of trusts have stopped doing it now for exactly the reasons mentioned.....it can be really hard to find the hb as baby is so teeny and it doesn't mean there is anything wrong but can you imagine how much you'd panic if it happened to you!

This is why home dopplers are such a bad idea, if a trained midwife struggles what hope has an untrained, anxious mum to be got? Could you be sure you were even listening to the right thing and not the blood flow from the placenta or your own hb? Would you know how to identify an issue?

With my first she looked and didn't find it. To be honest it probably would have been better not to look, as I wasn't expecting it anyway so wouldn't have been disappointed if she'd not mentioned it, but I was worrying (it was fine).

I had a face to face 16 week midwife appt and she did listen in. So I guess like literally everything else, it varies so much, and too much in my opinion between trusts.

@Sazzy312 it’s natural to be worried, but at 16 weeks you are past the most worrying time, hopefully the weeks will fly by for you. Could you get a private scan if you are worried? I had one at 17 weeks to find out the gender but was also nice to see the baby again especially as my partner hasn’t been allowed to subsequent appointments!

Sorry, meant sex not gender, it’s cos they call it a gender scan...

I did but to be fair it took a long time for the midwife to find the heartbeat and I was freaking out 😦 I can see why they would want to wait .

@Birdy1991 yes we could look at a private one as my partner can't come to the nhs scan which is a shame, nice that you got to see your little one at 17 weeks, yes would be nice to find out the sex too :) will see how anxious I get lol

I listened to the heartbeat at my 16 week appointment moment the other day (it was more of a 18 week appointment)
She offered to do this straight away when I said I was anxious.

Mine did, I didn't even realise at the time they didn't offer it in other areas. Fortunately she found it straight away.

I’d recommend a private scan! We heard the heartbeat in that, it came out so loud and unexpectedly it gave me and my husband a fright haha but in a nice way. There’s so many options now, though you usually have to book a few weeks in advance. I didn’t ask in my 16 week appointment as I figured if it was standard she’d offer, and I’m glad I didn’t after reading people talking about how hard it can be to find as you can guarantee if we had looked but not found I’d have been shitting myself for no reason.