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...
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...
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...
Towards the end of the first trimester, it becomes possible to use a fetal doppler to hear the heartbeat of an unborn baby. For many women, hearing this miraculous sound only during prenatal checkups is not enough. Purchasing a fetal doppler...
A significant moment during pregnancy for many mothers and expectant couples is the opportunity to hear their baby's heartbeat while it is still in utero. The heartbeat usually develops between the ninth and twelfth weeks of pregnancy. Hearing the...
Miscarriage is a devastating emotional event, and traumatic both mentally and physically to a woman. It is an event that no woman wants to experience, and to worry if a miscarriage is happening or not makes the entire process more difficult. There...
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...
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 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...
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...
HCG levels measure the amount of human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, in the urine or blood of a pregnant woman. Women who are trying to conceive, particularly those who are using assisted reproductive techniques or seeing the care of a fertility...
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...
Many pregnant women have wished for a window into the uterus, to reassure themselves that their baby-to-be is healthy. Ultrasound provides such a window and there are several signs of a healthy pregnancy that appear in the first seven weeks of...
At six weeks, some doctors perform a sonogram, also called an ultrasound, to determine the health or viability of the developing embryo. This is generally the earliest that anything is visible on an ultrasound, although at this point it will not...
During the course of pregnancy, nature takes a microscopic dot of life and creates a 7 lb. baby in only nine months. Fetal development is explosive, particularly in the first few months.
Pregnancy often brings feelings of joy, but it also can create anxiety, especially if you had a previous pregnancy that did not come to term. Several companies market fetal monitors. However, the FDA notes that these devices "are not intended for...
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...
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....
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...
A fetal doppler is a non-invasive diagnostic instrument that uses sound waves to send information back to the user. There are two types of fetal dopplers available: fetal heart doppler and doppler ultrasound. The fetal heart doppler allows a...
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...
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....
A woman's pregnancy is typically dated in weeks, with the start date at her last menstrual period. The weeks up to the 12th week are typically known as the first trimester. The process begins with a sperm penetrating the egg, forming a zygote. The...
Many strong opinions exist about how and when abortion should happen. There is general agreement, however, that abortion is acceptable when medical issues justify it. A variety of medical problems may lead to an abortion, including an impending...
From conception to the 10th week of your pregnancy, your baby is an embryo, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center website. She becomes a fetus at the end of week 10 of your pregnancy. During the embryonic period, when your baby is...
Most women expect to receive at least one ultrasound during pregnancy. While the couple expecting a child look forward to the ultrasound as an opportunity to see their baby for the first time and often to learn whether they are having a girl or a...
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 there are many presumed signs of pregnancy, there are only a few sure signs that you're pregnant. Many presumed signs of pregnancy, such as a positive pregnancy test, can be caused by other things, such as certain types of cancer that...
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.
