| A fetal heart beat is very important to a pregnant woman. This is because it is a sign that the baby is alive, sound and healthy. It is the joy of every mother to hear the fetal heart beat when the time comes for the baby's heart to start beating. More often than not, the baby's heart starts beating when it gets to the fifth week of pregnancy. Even if it starts beating at this time, it may be not be easy to hear except with the help of an amplifying device.
As the pregnancy progresses to the tenth week, the fetal heart beat becomes audible. To hear the heartbeat, a Doppler or a stethoscope is normally used by the obstetrician during prenatal appointment. The Doppler is an instrument for checking the baby's heart beat rate. It uses sound waves that jump off the baby's heart. If the heart is beating, the Doppler picks it up immediately. Apart from being used by the obstetrician, Doppler also be used by individual at home to check the baby's heart beat. This is even more convenient for anyone to use.
The Doppler need to be positioned at the correct angle to be able to hear the fetal heart beat in the tenth week. However, when the pregnancy gets to the twelfth week, the baby's heart beat can be heard very distinctly especially with the aid of Doppler. However, care must be taken so that the mother's heart beat is not picked instead of the baby's. Normally, there is a difference in the heart beat rate of the mother and the unborn child. The mother's heart beat is under 100 while the fetal heat beat is around 120. Though, the obstetrician should be able to differentiate clearly between the two. But, if you are using it at home, take note of the difference, so that you will not panic.
Measuring the fetal heart beat is not a difficult thing to do. The heart beat rate is counted per minute or for a period of fifteen seconds and is then multiplied by four. Sophisticated instruments produced by modern technology are capable of providing a fetal heart beat reading instantly. Many intelligent obstetricians only need to listen to the fetal heart beat to know whether it is normal or unusual.
Hearing the fetal heart beat is very important as enumerated above. You don't have to go to your obstetrician before you can hear it. You can simply purchase a Doppler heart beat monitor or a stethoscope to hear your baby's heart beat at home. When using it at home, you need to know that your own heart beat is slower than that of the baby's, so that you will not mistakenly pick it up. Anyway, as the baby grows in the uterus, it moves by kicking and this should set your mind at rest that the baby is doing well and that the bundle of joy will soon arrive for you to see and hold in your arms.
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