Listening to a baby's heartbeat while she's still in the womb is one of the most comforting and reassuring things a new parent can hear. Early in pregnancy, the only way a heartbeat can be detected is in the doctor's office using sophisticated...
One of the most reassuring sounds a pregnant mother can hear is the steady thumping of her baby's heartbeat. Before 20 weeks of pregnancy, fetal heartbeats are typically monitored by doctors using a heart rate Doppler. While buying or renting an...
Pregnant women visit their obstetricians so the doctor can track the mothers' and baby's health and development. Along with blood tests, urine screens, weight checks and abdominal measurements, the obstetrician listens to the baby's heartbeat. By...
Parents have a few different options for detecting a baby's heartbeat during pregnancy. Some can be accomplished at home, while others require the help of a doctor or trained technician. For many women, being able to hear the baby's heartbeat is...
When you're pregnant, almost nothing is more beautiful to the ear than the sound of your baby's heartbeat. This sound reassures you that your baby is still thriving. One of the most common methods to hear this sound is through a fetal Doppler....
Ultrasounds can help you see and hear your baby, but you may be wondering whether you can actually feel her tiny heartbeat within your belly. Unfortunately, it's unlikely this will happen. Some anecdotal evidence indicates experienced midwives may...
Many new parents anxiously await the chance to hear their baby's heartbeat for the first time. Although the heart develops fairly quickly after conception and can be visibly detected, it takes several weeks to be able to hear it. The age of your...
The first time you hear your baby's heartbeat you may feel joy, happiness and excitement. It may not sound exactly like what you're used to hearing, as your baby's heartbeat is much faster than an adult heartbeat. Some describe a baby's heartbeat...
Detection of a normal heartbeat in an unborn baby is one measure of the overall health of the pregnancy. An unborn baby has a heartbeat very early in the pregnancy, when the fetus is still in the embryonic stage. Exactly when a doctor can detect a...
Hearing a baby's heartbeat during pregnancy can be very exciting and comforting for expecting parents. The heartbeat may be heard as early as nine weeks after the last menstrual period using a piece of equipment known as a doppler. A doppler may...
Monitoring the fetal heart rate is essential to tracking your baby's growth and development during pregnancy. While in the womb, your baby's heart rate should be 120 and 160 beats per minute, according to MedlinePlus. The heart rate may rise when...
Pregnancy is a time of happy anticipation, but it can also be a time of worry. Every mother is concerned about her baby's health and the sound of a healthy heartbeat brings great relief. Relief can easily turn to anxiety if you think the heartbeat...
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have developed guidelines of what is considered a normal fetal heart rate and an abnormal fetal heart rate. Fetal heart rate is often referred to as FHR. Your doctor will monitor your baby's...
Checking the fetal heart rate gives important clues into an unborn baby's health and well being. Even as early as 6 weeks into a pregnancy, assessing the fetal heartbeat can help doctors determine if potential problems with the pregnancy exist....
Blood sugar is the common name for glucose, the carbohydrate fuel the body uses for quick energy. As an unborn baby approaches the ninth month of gestation, he builds a storage form of glucose, called glycogen. These glycogen stores are critical...
The human heart is an intricate organ. Its right side receives blood flowing from the body and pumps it to the lungs to receive oxygen, while the left side receives the oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and pumps it into the body. Your unborn...
As an expectant mom, one of your early concerns during the first trimester will be, 'When can I hear my baby's heartbeat?' In previous decades, a stethoscope-like device was the only available tool, and only the doctor could actually hear the...
Although many parents find out the gender of their baby via ultrasound about halfway through their pregnancy, the 18 to 20 week wait can seem excruciatingly long for some expecting parents. Folk tales from the days before scientific gender...
Screaming, crying and otherwise fussy babies have good reason to be so upset: They went from the womb's calm, warm environment to a noisy, obnoxious and caustic outside world. Reminding your baby of the womb's comforts, like letting him hear and...
The heartrate of a baby can be determined by feeling the pulse. A pulse rate is the measurement of how many times the heart contracts in one minute. An electrocardiograph (EKG) is a technical machine that is used to capture many details about your...
Carrying twins increases the risk of pregnancy complications that can affect one or both babies or the pregnancy itself. Many irregular heartbeats resolve spontaneously before birth, but some serious conditions can cause an irregular heartbeat in...
During your pregnancy, your obstetrician monitors your baby's growth, development and heart rate through ultrasounds. During these exams, a fetal doppler or probe is used. It's a hand-held device that emits high-energy sound waves to help detect...
Nothing is more reassuring to an expectant mother than to hear the steady thumping of her baby's heartbeat. Most obstetricians will use a fetal doppler to monitor and time the heartbeat at prenatal appointments. However, many moms-to-be want some...
For many women, the desire to monitor the well-being of their child begins long before childbirth. Using a fetal Doppler heart monitor at home to listen to the unborn baby's heartbeat reassures many expectant mothers that their baby is thriving in...
Your unborn baby's heart begins beating in your fifth week of pregnancy. Although it is too small to hear at this stage, you may be able to see it as a flickering light on an ultrasound. As you approach your second trimester, you will be able to...
A fetal heart rate monitor is exactly what it sounds like: a device that tracks your baby's heart rate during labor and birth. Changes in your baby's heart rate can indicate fetal distress, which can turn a basic labor and birth into a risky...
A baby's gender is decided at the moment of conception, according to the website KidsHealth. All of a mother's eggs have an X -- or female -- chromosome, and each of the father's sperm carries either an X or a Y chromosome. A baby's sex is...
During the course of her prenatal visits, a pregnant woman will likely encounter a few different Doppler tests. While it is sometimes used as part of a more comprehensive exam, Doppler technology can also be used alone. Doppler testing helps...
At 20 weeks pregnant, you are at the halfway mark of your pregnancy. Although your baby already has his organs, eyes, ears and limbs, his body is still developing and changing in more detailed ways, and only some of the changes are detectable with...
A fetal heart monitor can detect a baby's heart rate as early as the first trimester. Learn how to use a fetal heart monitor in this pregnancy video.
