Hearing a Fetal Heartbeat A stethescope or handheld doppler devices may be used to hear the heartbeat beginning around 8 weeks. However, it may take until 10 to 12 weeks or so to be audible.
It's typically done between 7 and 8 weeks to verify your due date, to look for a fetal heartbeat, and to measure the length of the baby from “crown to rump.” At this ultrasound, you'll also learn whether you're having one baby, pregnant with twins, or more!
Gestational Age Week 8 & 9 (Fetal Age: 6-7 weeks)
A strong fetal heartbeat should be detectable by ultrasound, with a heartbeat of 140-170 bpm by the 9th week. If a strong heartbeat is not detected at this point, another ultrasound scan may be done to verify the viability of the fetus.
Dopplers can't reliably detect a baby's heartbeat until 10-12 weeks. Your doctor may try again on your next visit. An ultrasound may give you better results.
If you are past seven weeks pregnant, seeing no heartbeat may be a sign of miscarriage.1 By this point a transvaginal ultrasound should be able to reliable detect a heartbeat or lack thereof.
The embryo's heart begins to beat around 6 weeks of pregnancy – sometimes earlier, sometimes later. A transvaginal ultrasound (an internal ultrasound) can detect a heartbeat around 6 weeks of pregnancy. However, it isn't uncommon to be unable to detect a heartbeat via ultrasound until closer to 7 or 8 weeks.
For instance, research indicates that between 10% and 20% of people with a medically confirmed pregnancy will end in miscarriage. Meanwhile, the risk of miscarriage after a fetal heartbeat is detected is only around 4%, dropping to 1.5% after 8 weeks and 0.9% by 9 weeks.
A missed miscarriage is often detected during the first-trimester exam, usually between 11 and 14 weeks. After a heartbeat has been detected at the eight-week scan, the chance of a miscarriage drops to only 2%. The chance falls to below 1% after 10 weeks.
You at 8 weeks
Your womb has grown to the size of a lemon by the time you're around 7 or 8 weeks pregnant. You're probably feeling tired. Your breasts might feel sore and enlarged, and you're probably needing to pee more often than usual. You'll probably have missed your second period.
If all looks good at 8 weeks, you can be reassured that the pregnancy is on track and the chance of miscarrying has dropped significantly. By 9 weeks, the baby has arms and legs and you can begin to see the baby starting to take on a proper “baby” shape. By 11 weeks, the baby is almost fully formed.
A full bladder is very important for the ultrasound exam. Empty your bladder 90 minutes before exam time, then consume one 8-ounce glasses of fluid (water, milk, coffee, etc.)
You might not need a full bladder for all ultrasound examinations. Most early pregnancy ultrasound scans after 8 weeks and up to 22-24 weeks will need a full bladder but thereafter usually not.
In fact, the "whoosh whoosh" of your little one's earliest cardiac activity is one of the first things doctors look and listen for. This early heartbeat may first be detected by a vaginal ultrasound as early as 5 1/2 to 6 weeks.
Other causes of early miscarriages at 6 weeks to 8 weeks
An unbalanced translocation then can become cause for even repeated miscarriages. Miscarriages can also be caused by anatomical abnormalities of the uterus, such as uterine septa or fibroid tumors (myomas) or even small endometrial polyps.
Your nausea and vomiting may be worse than ever: Morning sickness peaks around 9 or 10 weeks of pregnancy for many women. That's when levels of the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) are highest (morning sickness is thought to be linked to rises in hCG and estrogen).
The most common symptom of stillbirth is when you stop feeling your baby moving and kicking. Others include cramps, pain or bleeding from the vagina. Call your health care provider right away or go to the emergency room if you have any of these conditions.
In a study of asymptomatic women attending an early pregnancy ultrasound unit, the diagnosis of a miscarriage could not be made on initial ultrasound examination until 35 days from LMP and most miscarriages were diagnosed when the first assessment was between 63 and 85 days after the LMP.
More than 80% of miscarriages occur within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. After 12 weeks, the rate decreases rapidly (Dante et al, 2013; Houry and Salhy, 2014).
In some cases, the fetus dies but the womb does not empty, and a woman will experience no bleeding. Some doctors refer to this type of pregnancy loss as a missed miscarriage. The loss may go unnoticed for many weeks, and some women do not seek treatment.
First-trimester ultrasound
An early ultrasound is often a routine part of prenatal care between 6 and 9 weeks of pregnancy, though it can happen anytime before week 14. But a first-trimester ultrasound isn't standard practice because it's still too early for your practitioner to see your baby in detail.
In a viable pregnancy, the ultrasound will reveal that the pregnancy is in your uterus and has a healthy fetal heart rate. If the embryo has a heart rate that is too slow (fetal bradycardia) for its gestational age, you have a higher risk of miscarriage.
So what does a baby look like at 8 weeks? Baby's arms, legs, fingers and toes are all becoming more defined, and baby is less curled up, so you can see their constant little twitches and bounces. There is now an identifiable nose and upper lip, and wee little eyelids and ears.
If you have trouble keeping your bladder full, you may be asked to empty your bladder about an hour before your exam and then drink water once you get to the radiologist's office so that the test can be done immediately after your bladder is filled.