When does the fetal heart rate appear?

Palpitation is an important indicator of the health and correct development of the fetus. If suddenly there are unfavorable conditions for a child's future, a change in the heartbeat first signals this. The measurement of the frequency and nature of the fetal heartbeats is carried out throughout the entire pregnancy.

The first signs of palpitations

The ultrasonic diagnosis can be determined with accuracy when the palpitation of the fetus occurs. Usually the heart is formed in the fourth week of pregnancy, and the fetal heartbeat is heard when the first pulsating progressive contractions appear.

To establish on what week you hear a heartbeat there are two methods of ultrasound:

  1. Transvaginal ultrasound is performed only according to the doctor's indications, if any violations of the course of pregnancy are noticed. In this case, the sensor is inserted into the vagina, which helps to hear the fetal heartbeat as early as the fifth to sixth week of pregnancy.
  2. On what week the palpitation can be found by conducting an ordinary abdominal ultrasound, when the sensor examines the abdominal wall of the abdomen. With this method, pulsation is fixed from 6-7 weeks of pregnancy.

Many future mothers, learning how many weeks they listen to the heartbeat, believe that they should somehow feel the fetal heart contractions and even panic a little without feeling any changes. However, at such an early time even doctors at ordinary examination are not able to hear the heartbeat, this possibility does not appear until the 20th week of pregnancy. It should be said that a pregnant woman does not feel the fetal heart rhythms, but only feels the movement of the baby.

An important indicator of normal fetal development are the norms of what week and with what frequency the heartbeat is listened:

Starting from the 5th week of pregnancy, when the palpitation of the fetus occurs, and before the birth of the child, this important indicator requires constant monitoring. Therefore, the future mother should regularly visit a doctor and undergo all the tests prescribed by the obstetrician-gynecologist. In how many weeks the heartbeat is clearly audible without special instruments, the doctor determines with the help of a midwife stethoscope. Usually, from the third trimester of pregnancy, at each admission the midwife listens to the child's heart rate and records all the data in the pregnant card. At the slightest violations of the heartbeat, emergency measures are taken to identify the causes and preserve the fetus.