Drs

Weezy

Hi everyone just wondering , I'm 14 weeks preg. and had my first appt today. My ob wouldn't even try to hear my baby's heartbeat. She scheduled me an ultrasound 2 weeks from now so I'll be 16 weeks. It was hard enough waiting for this appt. They scheduled it too late anyways IMO. And supp they want you to be seen asap when pregnant. I'm just confused. With my other 3 pregnancies all my drs atleast listened to make sure there was a heartbeat.  Frustrates me. Does this sound right at all to anyone? Thanks ladies

[Deleted User]

Lots of doctors are different, but that does seem a little late to me for a first appointment. From what I've heard and experienced, around 8 weeks is typically when they like to see you first. If you are with the same clinic as your previous pregnancies where you heard the heartbeat, you could mention it at your next appointment and see what changed since your last pregnancy(ies).

CecilB93

I agree that sounds late. And weird for the HB thing. My MW was ALWAYS listening to the heartbeat. I would mention it to your dr and maybe ask why they didn't search for the HB at least.

Weezy

Yeah I did at the appt. She said she didn't becsuse it can all be done at my ultrsound. I think I may switch doctors . thanks for your reply.

SaphireSweetie88

@Weezy

I would agree with you that looking to switch drs would be a good idea. My OB saw me at 6 weeks because of some bleeding / spotting I had but otherwise I would have been seen at 8 weeks. IMO 14 weeks was too long because you're basically done with the 1st Trimester at that point. I would have looked at getting a new doctor before now. Good luck.

SnarkasaurusRex

My OB doesn't see you for your first appointment somewhere between 8 - 12 weeks, unless you have a history of loss, so while 14 weeks is a little late, it's not unheard of from my perspective. She does send you for blood work to verify the pregnancy once you call in with a BFP, though. She usually does not try to get the HB on doppler at the first appointment either because it is pretty hit or miss and she doesn't want you to stress over her not finding it when baby is still so small...she sends you for an US after the first appointment, but there is a walk-in clinic where you can go same day to get the dating US done (this was not the case with my 1st - with that one I needed to wait a week or so until I could get in with the US place - my first appointment was at 12 weeks and my dating US was at 13). So, nothing seems bizarrely late to me unless you've been having issues, but if you're uncomfortable with this doctor, it's better to start looking for a new one sooner rather than later.

delujm0

Weezy said:

Hi everyone just wondering , I'm 14 weeks preg. and had my first appt today. My ob wouldn't even try to hear my baby's heartbeat. She scheduled me an ultrasound 2 weeks from now so I'll be 16 weeks. It was hard enough waiting for this appt. They scheduled it too late anyways IMO. And supp they want you to be seen asap when pregnant. I'm just confused. With my other 3 pregnancies all my drs atleast listened to make sure there was a heartbeat.  Frustrates me. Does this sound right at all to anyone? Thanks ladies

The only truly necessary ultrasound is the anatomy scan at 20 weeks, so I don't think it's completely crazy to have not had an ultrasound yet.  That said, most doctors do offer the NT scan and associated quad screen bloodwork as optional, and that has to be done between 11-13 weeks I believe, so it does strike me as odd that it wasn't at least offered to you as an option.

 

My doctor didn't try to hear the heartbeat with the Doppler until my 16 week appointment, but I had had a dating ultrasound at 8 weeks (office policy) and I did the NT scan at 12 weeks, so it wasn't really necessary until then.  8 weeks is the earliest my office will see you unless you have history of loss.

lovesclimbing

delujm0 said:

Weezy said:

Hi everyone just wondering , I'm 14 weeks preg. and had my first appt today. My ob wouldn't even try to hear my baby's heartbeat. She scheduled me an ultrasound 2 weeks from now so I'll be 16 weeks. It was hard enough waiting for this appt. They scheduled it too late anyways IMO. And supp they want you to be seen asap when pregnant. I'm just confused. With my other 3 pregnancies all my drs atleast listened to make sure there was a heartbeat.  Frustrates me. Does this sound right at all to anyone? Thanks ladies

The only truly necessary ultrasound is the anatomy scan at 20 weeks, so I don't think it's completely crazy to have not had an ultrasound yet.  That said, most doctors do offer the NT scan and associated quad screen bloodwork as optional, and that has to be done between 11-13 weeks I believe, so it does strike me as odd that it wasn't at least offered to you as an option.

 

My doctor didn't try to hear the heartbeat with the Doppler until my 16 week appointment, but I had had a dating ultrasound at 8 weeks (office policy) and I did the NT scan at 12 weeks, so it wasn't really necessary until then.  8 weeks is the earliest my office will see you unless you have history of loss.

This isn't true in my experience. At my practice, unless you are super regular with your cycles and know exactly when you started the last one, and typically even if you are/do, they really really want you to get the 8 week dating ultrasound to ensure an accurate due date. They aren't near as concerned about whether you get the 20 week. Of course, they can't force you to get either, but they definitely push for the 8 week. 

JNR6510

My OB doesn't try finding the heartbeat until 14 weeks because before that is "too early." I completely disagree with her stance there, but each doctor's office is different. As long as you are not high risk, her office also generally does only 1 US at 20 weeks. They do a dating US earlier if you have erratic periods.