Couldn’t hear heartbeat but could see it on the screen? 6+3

kls1262

Hi everyone. So I got my first ultrasound today. It was my choice to get the ultrasound early. I am 6+3. I’ve just been a little anxious so I decided to go as early as I could. We couldn’t hear a heartbeat, but we could see the heartbeat on the screen. I attached a picture of the ultrasound. The lady who did my ultrasound said it looked like a heartbeat if 100 bpm, which is a normal heartbeat for this gestational age. Has anyone had this happen before? Where you couldn’t hear the heartbeat earlier on but could visualize it on the screen? I go back next week to repeat the ultrasound. I just thought I would ask if anyone else has experienced this before. 

harpseal135

So you chose to go in early for an ultrasound and upset that you could see the heart but not hear the heart?  What do you expect? That is why they recommend the EARLIEST to be 8 weeks (unless there is underlying issues). It is possible it was the machine wasn't set up for sound or the HB was too soft  to pickup. IDK.  Not a medical professional,  hopefully they told you why. 

So now you are going to do an ultrasound, again at 7 weeks? Why not wait until at least 8 or 10 weeks so you get a better read?  

QFP

kls1262 said:

Hi everyone. So I got my first ultrasound today. It was my choice to get the ultrasound early. I am 6+3. I’ve just been a little anxious so I decided to go as early as I could. We couldn’t hear a heartbeat, but we could see the heartbeat on the screen. I attached a picture of the ultrasound. The lady who did my ultrasound said it looked like a heartbeat if 100 bpm, which is a normal heartbeat for this gestational age. Has anyone had this happen before? Where you couldn’t hear the heartbeat earlier on but could visualize it on the screen? I go back next week to repeat the ultrasound. I just thought I would ask if anyone else has experienced this before. 

swizzlemalarkey

Some machines don’t allow you to “hear” the heartbeat. I’m pretty sure It’s the machine that makes the noise based on the bpm. The fact that you saw cardiac activity is good and I would just relax until your next appt. 

riahcouture

Hi! This also happened to me! I had a scheduled ultra sound because I thought I was about 8 weeks pregnant. When I got to the ultra sound done, she said baby was measuring at about 6 weeks. So we were able to see the heartbeat but couldn’t hear it. But got told that baby had a good strong heartbeat.

opres

I'm almost 12 weeks, have had 3 ultrasounds and was able to see but not hear the HB at all 3. It was explained to me that the machines used were either "too strong" and won't attempt to hear the Heartbeat through it or it's not equipped. I was told I wouldn't hear the HB until my first OB appointment when doctor uses a doppler.

chiyo88

Hi OP, sonographer here. The particular mode of ultrasound used in 'hearing' the baby's heart beat is called Pulse Wave. It is a slightly stronger form of ultrasound and generally we do NOT use this on babies less than 10 weeks' gestation as we do not want to cause unnecessary heating. Instead we use M-mode which can still determine the baby's heart rate without hearing the "thump thump".

Please don't be upset about not hearing the heart beat at ultrasound before 10 weeks. The sonographer is doing their job correctly!

Also perfectly normal for early 6 week babies to have heart rates between 100-120. It should pick up the pace in a week or two.