A little flustered with my doc..

jadelove22 · January 2016

I went in for my appointment yesterday thinking the doc would listen for a heart beat as I am 11 weeks today....but he then told me he won't listen for it until my 15 week appointment....I'm feeling just a little bummed because I have read that the heart beat can be heard between 10 and 12 weeks....when did you ladies get to hear the heart beat? Or is this normal for most docs?

smilormarie · January 2016

(With my first) When I switched to a midwife group at a birth center at 9 weeks after being released from my fertility clinic at 8 weeks, the midwife tried to listen with a Doppler but reassured me at 9 weeks it's a very low possibility to hear a heart beat. I think it's more in the 12 week plus time frame that you can start to reliably hear it. But I had also been having weekly ultrasounds so I could see the heart beat, I wasn't worried.

That being said, he's probably right but you can also find another practitioner if you are already butting heads. Remember this will be the guy at "go time" and you want to have a great working relationship with him. Good luck!

mimihatesyou · January 2016

that seems a bit odd to me- i went in for my fetal doppler appointment at 10+2. if you're eager to try to locate the heartbeat yourself, you could try using one at home. i purchased this one via amazon recently and found my baby's heartbeat without too much difficulty.

amandam925 · January 2016

My doctor told me at my first appointment (at 6 weeks) that we would be listening to the heartbeat at my next appointment (at 10 weeks). I haven't had the 10 week appointment yet, but I think that you're right about when it can be heard.

If you had a US at your appointment, I could see skipping listening for the heartbeat (since you would probably have seen it on US). Otherwise, he may be waiting out of an abundance of caution -- he might not to cause alarm if the heartbeat isn't heard or his office could have older equipment that isn't as sensitive.

That said, if your doctor is leaving you feeling unhappy, you may want to switch doctors. It's still early in your pregnancy, and there are doctors out there that explain their reasoning, tell you what to expect in advance, etc. and don't leave you guessing.

bearsandbeets7 · January 2016

My OB won't try until at least 12 weeks. I honestly think it's just because they don't want to try to get the heart beat with a chance that they won't get it and potientally freak you out because you expected to hear the heartbeat and didn't.

amandazap · January 2016

I just had my first prenatal this morning and I am also bummed! It was an hr long medical history with the nurse (which I remember from ds), but they never did a heartbeat or u/s. I thought they did with ds, so now I have to wait for 1/28 to see my OB for the physical. BOOOO HISSSSS

ZedPM3 · January 2016

When we went in for our visit with the nurse yesterday she said they wouldn't even try the Doppler until 14 weeks because there's a chance we might not hear anything before then so they don't want to cause unecessary worry. I don't mind, though we've already seen/heard the heartbeat on an ultrasound and we're opting for the NT scan so we'll see baby again then.

tresamigos · January 2016

@jadelove22 Did you also have an ultrasound? If so, I think it's odd he wouldn't listen to it at 11 weeks. We heard ours loud and clear during my ultrasound at 9 weeks.

cbpalagi · January 2016

I go to a MFM doc and they were able to let me hear the heartbeat at the 7wk us, but MFM docs usually have better equipment to make this possible

mumblefrog86 · January 2016

My midwife won't listen for it until 14 weeks. I was also disappointed yesterday. I think it is normal because at this stage it can be hard to find and if they can't find it you would be worried for nothing.

cait5413 · January 2016

My first appt was 1 day short of 10 weeks and they did a transvaginal ultrasound and heard a nice strong HB--it was great! If you had a regular US, maybe it's harder to pick up? If you saw the heartbeat flicker, I wouldn't be worried, but I understand wanting to hear it--it's a great feeling.

bananers · January 2016

Protocol varies by practice, but many docs will do an u/s or listen with a Doppler around 10-12 weeks. If you aren't comfortable with waiting (it would be a dealbreaker for me), you can find a doc who will monitor you more closely for your peace of mind.

jadelove22 · January 2016

I did have an ultrasound at 6 weeks and saw the heart beat so I was beside myself and,so excited for that...iI think I'm just in that stage where I haven't hit the 12 week mark and I'm not showing and I don't really have symptoms aside from sore boobs and fatigue so every little pain and change has me worried lol....I'm feeling like my doc is a little too laid back....but I also don't want him to scare the life out of me at my appointments by telling me too much ya know.... maybe it's just the hormones and anxiety...i just want it to go well...I struggled with pcos and my hubby had to have a surgery to correct his fertility issue so I'm just praying for the best possible outcome for everything and it tends to become all consuming....thank you ladies for all of your replies....these chat groups have talked me off the edge so many times already haha

mrsodonnell12 · January 2016

My mw won't try to find a hb with a dopplar until 12w my minimum as to not freak mom out since the chances of finding it are hit and miss until 12 weeks.

Whitmore1027 · January 2016

I know all OB's are different, but I thought they would want to listen to the heartbeat at every appointment. Mine will. We did the sonogram yesterday (8w2d) and listened to the heartbeat. Then he said at every appointment (every 4 weeks) we will listen to the heart. But we will only have one more sonogram at around 20 weeks. I'm not an expert though, so I don't really know what's best.

Caileybug · January 2016

I had my first prenatal appointment today at 9w2d and I asked if we could try. He said the chances of hearing anything were very unlikely but I still wanted to. We didn't pick anything up yet

beenabee · January 2016

I heard the heartbeat at my first appointment at 6 weeks 2 days, then again at my next appointment at 9 weeks 2 days. I found it on my home Doppler at 8 weeks 4 days

PinkLady2015 · January 2016

lurking from July

My regular OB (before I started seeing my high risk OB) wouldn't look for a heart beat until after 12 weeks. If you're not high risk and have no other health issues or concerns, some docs won't even see you til 12+ weeks anyway, and even then they may not do an u/s until the anatomy scan at 20 weeks. Some of us have gone through fertility treatments or are high-risk so that's why we're getting more intensive care.

Side note: Be super cautious with using an at home fetal Doppler. I'm 15 weeks and still can't find the freaking HB on that thing and I just had an u/s yesterday and it was clear as day at 150 bpm.

lalalorelai · January 2016

Also RE the doppler: the FDA recommends not using one at home (https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm095508.htm). Not because there are any known risks, just because the doppler is meant to be used by a trained medical professional.

My trainer is the crunchy, all natural type and him and his wife didn't even want the doctor to use a fetal doppler at their visits. Apparently it heats up tissue really fast and the long term effects of that are unknown.

Just wanted to put that out there. Aside from the anxiety-producing effects, there could be other reasons why you might want to avoid using the fetal doppler at home.

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