Many women are interested in whether it is possible to hear the fetal heartbeat at home and from when. If a mother places her hand on her belly, she will not feel the baby’s heartbeat at any stage of pregnancy. Even if you feel a pulsation in the abdomen, you should not mistake it for fetal heartbeats. Most likely, this indicates that the pressure in the aorta is increased due to hormonal changes in the woman’s body due to pregnancy.
There are several ways to listen to the heartbeat of an unborn child, but this is difficult at home. As you know, heartbeats appear in the fifth week, but at this time an ultrasound will be required. You can hear the baby’s heartbeat at home at a later date, but without special equipment this is not easy to do. Fortunately, today it is not a problem to purchase such devices for home use.
You can learn more about fetal heartbeat from this article.
Fetal Doppler
This device can be used from 12 weeks. It is sold in a pharmacy or specialty store. There are different models of Dopplers available: ones that are simpler for listening to heartbeats in headphones and those that count the number of heartbeats. They may differ in appearance, display quality, and set of functions. The main components of most devices:
- Display. It comes in different sizes and is most often colored. The simplest models do not have it; only a sound speaker is provided.
- Speaker. Sound quality varies depending on the sensor and signal processing.
- Battery. Allows the device to operate continuously from 3 to 15 hours, depending on the model.
Before purchasing such a device, many parents have a question about whether they will harm their unborn child if they periodically listen to the beating of his heart. An ultrasound device is considered harmless, but it is possible that the fetus feels it and can move in the other direction when trying to listen. In this case, it is better not to torture the baby and wait until the time when he is calm. To avoid stress in the fetus, you do not need to listen to its heartbeat for a long time. Doctors recommend not to delay the procedure longer than ten minutes.
If there is such a device at home, mothers feel calm, having the opportunity at any time to make sure that everything is fine with the child
These portable ultrasonic detectors are in great demand today due to their convenience. Among the obvious advantages of the device, the following should be highlighted:
- ease of use;
- the ability to hear the fetal heartbeat at 12 weeks;
- an opportunity for the expectant mother to hear how the baby’s heart works, without assistants.
It also has disadvantages:
- quite high price;
- restrictions on use (doctors advise not to use it for a long time and often).
How to operate the device
In the early stages, it is very difficult to check the fetal heartbeat at home. You need to start listening to it from the 12th week. During this period, the sensor is placed in the lower abdomen, right next to the pubic bone. As the fetus grows, the listening position will shift towards the navel.
Before starting the procedure, you need to apply a special gel to the area where the sensor is placed. It is advisable to keep the bladder full. The sensor must be moved slowly. To better catch the signal, you need to properly fix the handle of the device.
The heartbeat should be loud, the heart rate should be twice as fast as that of the mother - up to 160 beats per minute. Heart rate may vary throughout the day and depending on the activity of the fetus.
How to determine the sex of a child by heartbeat
According to the theory, there is a close connection between the work of the heart and gender. There are significant differences in the heartbeat of boys and girls. The main ones:
- Beat frequency
. The heart rate of girls is higher than that of boys - 140 beats versus 120. It is believed that this information is reliable only until the 20th week of pregnancy, although there is an opinion that the period does not matter. - Heart rhythms
. Male power manifests itself already in the womb. A boy's heart is more powerful, so its contractions are more rhythmic and loud. The girls' heartbeat is somewhat chaotic; doctors compare it to alarming music. It is also quieter than boys. However, determining the sound level is quite difficult. - Sound location.
A number of experts believe that girls and boys occupy different positions in the womb. A boy's heart can be listened to on the left, and a girl's heart on the right. The reliability of this method is questionable, because at the beginning of the term the baby has enough space in the uterus and can actively move, unlike later stages, where the fetus is limited in maneuvers.
There is an opinion that the mother’s heart beats simultaneously with the rhythm of her son’s heart and resonates with the girl’s heartbeat.
Obstetric stethoscope or phonendoscope
On the one hand, this method is available to everyone: you can buy this tube at any pharmacy for little money. On the other hand, it is not easy to count heartbeats using this tool at home. For this you need an assistant, because you can’t do it alone. At the same time, he must have skills that he most often does not have. Moreover, you need to listen to tones at certain points. Correctly counting the number of beats will be interfered with by extraneous noises (mother’s heartbeat, contraction of the muscles of the intestinal walls and other sounds), which you need to learn to distinguish from the fetal heartbeat.
Before 25 weeks, it is unlikely to be possible to hear the heart of an unborn child at home.
Ultrasound at the 6th obstetric week of pregnancy
The 6th obstetric week of pregnancy is the time when the fetus can be seen quite clearly on an ultrasound. As prescribed by the attending physician, a woman can undergo this procedure at this time to determine a further pregnancy management strategy.
Why is an ultrasound scan necessary at 6 weeks of pregnancy?
The timing of mandatory ultrasound is established by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. For the 1st trimester it is 10-13 weeks, for the 2nd – 20-24, for the 3rd – 32-34 weeks. But there are cases when ultrasound diagnostics can be performed earlier:
- the woman has already had miscarriages or missed pregnancies;
- fertilization was performed in vitro (IVF);
- previous pregnancies ended in a cesarean section (that is, a scar was left on the uterus, and it is important to see how close the chorion is attached to it).
An ultrasound is performed to first confirm the fact of pregnancy, then assess where the fertilized egg is attached (in the uterus or outside it), then assess its size and identify existing threats to pregnancy.
What do they look for on an ultrasound?
Performing an ultrasound in the sixth week of pregnancy
, the doctor will first look to see if the fertilized egg is visualized in the uterus. Next, you need to evaluate its size and see if there is a living embryo in the egg.
Also, with the help of ultrasound, you need to see how the fetal heart is formed and at what frequency it beats.
It is important to look at the condition of the organs of the reproductive system of the expectant mother. In particular, evaluate the length of the cervix, since a cervix that is too short can cause miscarriage or premature birth.
In the sixth week, the endometrium is also examined using ultrasound, identifying its pathologies.
Putting your ear to your stomach
This is the simplest and most accessible, but also the most ineffective way. Difficulties are possible if a woman is overweight. You need to listen at a certain point, which depends on how the fetus is located in the uterus:
- beating below the navel if the fetus lies head down;
- the heart can be heard above the navel if the presentation is breech;
- if the pregnancy is multiple, the heartbeat of each fetus can be heard in different places.
You can listen to the heartbeat of the unborn baby by placing your ear to the stomach only in the later stages (more than 30 weeks)
How to prevent a frozen pregnancy
Unfortunately, no doctor can give a 100% guarantee that this disaster can be avoided, but proper preparation for conception will significantly increase the chances of having a healthy baby. Before starting planning, a woman must undergo the following examinations:
- Do an ultrasound of the pelvic organs.
- Donate blood for TORCH infections and hormones, smears for sexually transmitted diseases.
- Check the condition of the thyroid gland with an endocrinologist.
- Lead a healthy lifestyle: stop drinking and smoking, eat right, play sports, and spend more time in the fresh air.
A frozen pregnancy is not a death sentence or a reason to fall into despair. Go through a comprehensive examination, undergo treatment if necessary, and soon children’s laughter will sound in your home.
When is it necessary to calculate fetal heart rate at home?
There are situations when it is necessary to monitor the contractions of the unborn child’s heart every day.
- For bloody discharge at any stage of gestation. The most common cause of this phenomenon is placental abruption. Strict fetal monitoring is usually necessary throughout pregnancy.
- The uterus has increased tone. In such a situation, the blood vessels of the placenta are compressed, and this can lead to impaired blood circulation in it, while the fetus does not receive sufficient oxygen and nutrition.
- If there is a threat of miscarriage, you need to constantly monitor the fetal heartbeat at home in order to seek medical help in time.
- For anemia in a pregnant woman. In this case, the mother usually has low hemoglobin, which means that the fetus does not receive the required amount of nutrients that are carried by the blood.
- In case of illness of the expectant mother, which can cause a deficiency of oxygen and nutrients.
Non-developing pregnancy - causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention
The reasons for a non-developing pregnancy are very diverse. Basically, they coincide with the factors responsible for various types of miscarriages. Unfortunately, sometimes it is not possible to clarify which factor caused a missed abortion. The mechanisms causing this pathology include:
- deviations in the genome of the embryo;
- inadequate response of the mother’s immune system to the embryo;
- pathological morphology of the genitals;
- abnormal functioning of the endometrium, leading to disruptions during gestation;
- abnormalities in blood clotting;
- infections;
- hormonal disorders;
- additional factors.
It is necessary to distinguish between the causes of a non-developing pregnancy and the factors leading to the presence of a dead fetus in the uterus. The latter include strong consolidation of the developing placenta as a result of deep penetration of the chorion. This may be partly caused by endometrial abnormalities in the area where the fertilized egg is attached. Insufficient contractile characteristics of the myometrium can also cause problems with embryo transfer. This can be caused by abnormalities in protein metabolism and chronic pathological phenomena in the uterus.
Pathological morphology of the genitals
Uterine abnormalities can be acquired or congenital. Congenital anomalies of this organ usually lead to miscarriage in later stages. Pathologies in the structure of the uterus in some cases accompany anomalies in the urinary system. Abnormal development of the uterus is often associated with failures in the attachment of the fertilized egg, functional pathology of the endometrium, hormonal imbalances and other problems during gestation.
Deviations in the genome of the embryo
Deviations in the genome of the embryo are one of the main causes of miscarriage. Non-developing pregnancy in the early stages of gestation is usually caused by them.
In view of this, in the case of the first threat of miscarriage in the early stages of pregnancy, a wait-and-see approach is more preferable than a preserving one. The body often gets rid of a faulty embryo through miscarriage in the early stages. The presence of significant genetic abnormalities in the embryo's genome makes attempts to preserve it illogical. Malfunctions in the genome of the embryo can be caused by meiosis disorders, deviations during fertilization, abnormal division of the egg and other factors.
Abnormal functioning of the endometrium, leading to disruptions during gestation
Abnormal functioning of the endometrium, leading to disruptions during gestation, can be caused by a variety of reasons. These include abnormalities in the functioning of the endocrine and immune systems, as well as the effects of various infectious factors. Histological analysis of the placenta is of great importance in establishing the cause of miscarriage.
Chronic endometritis is one of the most common manifestations of endometrial pathology, leading to pregnancy failure. This disease is caused by a combination of pathological phenomena, including disruption of the transformation of endometrial tissue. In some cases, stromal fibrosis and the presence of plasma cells are observed.
Deviation in blood clotting
Thrombophilic abnormalities make a significant contribution to the risks of miscarriage, including non-developing pregnancy. The nature of this pathology can be both autoimmune and alloimmune in nature. During a frozen pregnancy, an autoimmune disorder such as antiphospholipid syndrome is often observed. It has not only autoimmune properties, but also thrombophilic ones. Women with a frozen pregnancy are characterized by an increased presence of antiphospholipid antibodies in the body. The mechanism of this phenomenon is not fully understood and needs further clarification.
In the presence of polymorphism of some hemostasis genes, thrombotic risks increase, which can lead to miscarriage. Polymorphism of these genes can also lead to a deterioration in folate metabolism in a woman’s body. This leads to embryogenesis occurring according to a pathological scenario and disturbances in the development of the placenta. The consequence of this is various problems in the development of the fetus, including frozen pregnancy.
Not in all cases, the causes of a non-developing pregnancy can be identified. It is possible that the etiological factors leading to this pathology also include abnormal NK cell activity and the presence of alloimmune antibodies.
Listening Methods
In modern medicine, there are several methods that allow you to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. Each of them gives positive results at different periods of pregnancy:
- Auscultation. In this case, the gynecologist uses a special gynecological stethoscope, which is applied to the woman's abdomen. This method can be used at approximately 27–28 weeks of pregnancy.
- Ultrasonography. This technique allows you not only to hear how the child’s heart beats, but also to record these sounds. Its peculiarity is that ultrasound is performed only three times (10–12, 21–23, 31–32 weeks). It is possible to perform ultrasound more times, but only if the need arises.
- Cardiotocography. This is one of the types of ultrasound, which makes it possible not only to listen to the heartbeat, but also to record its graphic image.
Each of the above methods has its own positive and negative aspects, but at the same time, without their use it is impossible to determine the presence of pathologies in the development of the fetal cardiovascular system or even hear the heartbeat.
