Can’t Tell the difference between my heartbeat and the fetal heartbeat. 17 Weeks Pregnant?
Monday, December 28th, 2009 at
10:59 pm
I’m 17 weeks pregnant and I rented a doppler to monitor my baby’s heartbeat. The first couple of times I used the doppler I wasn’t able to hear anything…..and for the first time I heard a heart beat near my lower left abdomen. It didn’t sound fast enough. I moved the doppler to the top portion near my stomache and the heart beat rythum sound the same. Does anyone know how the fast the fetal heart beat should be?
Filed under: Fetal Doppler FAQs
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Not certain of a definitive range it should be within, but have always been told between 120-170…my baby’s was always between 130-160 every time they checked it in the office, which they said was healthy.
At any rate, it should definitely be more rapid than your own, and should be easily distinguishable from your heartbeat.
In the range of 140 beats per minute.
You’ll have to "dig" around for the fetus. The heartrate will be between 120 and 180. Just keep moving and you may have to press a little bit.
you are to early to use the home doppler yet…you need to get that out about 18-20 wks. You will notice when you go to the doctors the BHB is always about 120 to 170 dependent on gender.
So don’t worry everything is fine. Once you get a little further along you will hear more then just the HB…movements and such…they are pretty neat, but hard to get used to if you don’t know what to make of the sounds.
it will be much faster than yours. between 130 and up
anything above 140 is "supposed to be a boy"
under 140 is "supposed to be a girl"
also girls are modest and she will be hiding from your monitor.
good luck it will take some hunting at this age.
It should be *much* faster than yours. Baby’s heartbeat should be over 120 beats per minute, if I remember correctly. (It’s been a while…my son is 12!)
You might want to try keeping a finger on your pulse…if what you are hearing coincides with your pulse, it’s yours, not the baby’s.
put the doppler on your heartbeat over your uterus and then feel your pulse on your neck. They will match. The babies heartbeat will be about 2′ce as fast. 120-150 beats per minutes
Sometimes the baby is laying closer to your spine, so can’t be heard as easily. It will become increasingly easier to hear the heartbeat as the baby fills the uterus (20 weeks). Just keep trying, and enjoy all those little signs of life.
Try pointing the doppler down toward your pubic bone. You will know it’s the baby because the heart rate will range from 120-160 beats per minute. The placenta will resemble your pulse.
Interesting note… usually around the 8th month baby boy’s heartbeats stay on the slower end, while girls are on the higher end. This of course is not fail-proof, but has held true for about 90% of the births I have attended.
They are all correct.
Not to worry so much.
I had a rented doppler and had the same problem sometimes. Now that you know the rythym of your own heartbeat, just try to find the one that is faster. My baby likes to hang out to the right of my belly button or down low. I always listened to the heartbeat before I went to bed, that’s when my baby seems most active and it was soothing to me to have that be the last thing that I think of before falling asleep.
Contrary to what someone else said, it is not too early. I started using mine at 12 weeks until 20 weeks and had no problem. Don’t freak out if you can’t always find it either. Sometimes the baby will be tucked away towards your back. Don’t get yourself frustrated over it, try for a few minutes, then put it away and try later.
Yeah about 140 a min or faster…… If your hearing a heartbeat slower than that it is probably the placenta
The fetal hearbeat should be somewhere between 120-160, maybe even a little faster. However yours will probably be closer to 80. Also, yours sounds like a thump - thump thump, where as the baby is a swooshing, kind of like the ocean. When you hear it, you’ll know it. My dr. used the doppler on me, and she told me that when I hear it Ill know, and let me identify the sound myself. She was right, it was really easy to identify the difference once you find both heartbeats. and also, you can hear them both in the same location. its not like you have to have it on your belly on to hear babys, youll hear yours down there too. good luck