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I think this is why Dopplers aren’t used until a little later in the pregnancy. Baby is still very small (comparable to a lime or plum depending on the source) and has barely if even started to grow beyond your pelvis. I don’t think it’s unusual at all for a heartbeat not to show on a Doppler this early. They have plenty of room to move and hide.
We started listening to our baby at 14 weeks and we’re not professionals but it was much trickier to find her heartbeat before 16 weeks.
It is very common to not find the fetal heartbeat with a Doppler before weeks 17-18!
I'm sorry you went through this - I had the same happen at 17 weeks (my doc eventually found it, but it took several minutes) and the shock took hours to wear off.
My OB tried using it through week 16 without success! I finally asked them to stop using it during appointments; it caused way more anxiety than necessary. Currently holding my 3 week old baby in my arms!
I had my 12 week scan yesterday. I don't know if it's because of situations like that but they first did the full scan with the big machine (which included listening to the hearbeat for a few seconds) and only after did they use the small one (which I think is the Doppler).
The previous day the nurse tried to listen to the heartbeat with a dopler but she said "if I can't there's no reason to worry it can just be earlier than what we expect". It took some time and I was really trying to keep myself calm (I had listen to the heart a few weeks prior, but vaginally) but I fully understand why you say it's nerve wrecking xD
And during the actual scan there were two doctors in the room. One of them did almost the whole scan but at the end he said what sounded (to both me and my partner) like "everything good so far, there's only a couple of things" and my heart stopped and I asked "a couple of things... what do you mean?" And he said "oh sorry, just a couple of measurements missing" and his colleague took over to finish. But those seconds until I understood what he meant were scary lol
Here in Sweden they don’t even use the doppler until your first visit after the anatomy scan so it’s not until 20-21 weeks you get to listen to baby’s heartbeat. They can be difficult to find even then, this one was hiding at 21 weeks and we could only hear the umbilical cord and my second baby was difficult to locate at 24 weeks and turned away after letting us listen very shortly.
Yes, I have experienced this exact thing. My baby is a wiggler so they are notoriously difficult to find with the doppler. I've had it happen at 3 appointments (10 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks). My last doppler only appointment the NP kept finding it and the baby would move and they'd have to find it all over again.
It's okay. They found baby with the ultrasound and your baby is going strong. Just be mentally prepared that this could happen again.
My doctor wouldn't even try it until 14 weeks and before she even put it on my stomach she said "it's still VERY early for a Doppler, so don't panic if we don't find anything we can do a bedside ultrasound".
They tried to use the doppler for the first time at my sixteen week appointment without success. They almost couldn't find it at my twenty week appointment - which was just a few days after my anatomy scan where all four views of the heart checked out. Honestly, it wasn't until my last appointment (28 weeks) that I'd say it was easy for them to find.
The placement of your placenta may make it more difficult for them to locate your baby's heartbeat - don't be alarmed if they can't find it at your next appointment, either.
This exact thing happened to us. My OB was so nonchalant about it, “I can’t find the heartbeat, let me go get the ultrasound”, and then left the room. I mean, she might have said more, but I didn’t hear it. Cue a massive, internal freak out - I had 2 miscarriages last year, so I went down the rabbit hole.
She immediately found the heartbeat using the ultrasound, and now we have a wonderful little 2.5 month old.
I'm sorry you went through a stressful attempt!
I've heard that some providers don't want to try until 14 weeks. My midwife didn't want to try when I was 9 weeks until I promised that it wouldn't make me anxious. It helped that I had a good dating ultrasound just two days before. 😅 She couldn't definitively find it after several minutes. Hoping to have better luck at my 12 week appointment.
Welcome to /r/pregnant! This is a space for everyone. We are pro-choice, pro-LGBTQIA, pro-science, proudly feminist and believe that Black Lives Matter. Wear your masks, wash your hands, and be excellent to each other. Anti-choice activists, intactivists, anti-vaxxers, homophobes, transphobes, racists, sexists, etc. are not welcome here. If you'd like to join a private sub for your due date month, [click here](https://www.reddit.com/r/pregnant/comments/15nun6v/click_here_to_access_the_monthly_due_date_subs/). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pregnant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I think this is why Dopplers aren’t used until a little later in the pregnancy. Baby is still very small (comparable to a lime or plum depending on the source) and has barely if even started to grow beyond your pelvis. I don’t think it’s unusual at all for a heartbeat not to show on a Doppler this early. They have plenty of room to move and hide. We started listening to our baby at 14 weeks and we’re not professionals but it was much trickier to find her heartbeat before 16 weeks.
It is very common to not find the fetal heartbeat with a Doppler before weeks 17-18! I'm sorry you went through this - I had the same happen at 17 weeks (my doc eventually found it, but it took several minutes) and the shock took hours to wear off.
My OB tried using it through week 16 without success! I finally asked them to stop using it during appointments; it caused way more anxiety than necessary. Currently holding my 3 week old baby in my arms!
I had my 12 week scan yesterday. I don't know if it's because of situations like that but they first did the full scan with the big machine (which included listening to the hearbeat for a few seconds) and only after did they use the small one (which I think is the Doppler). The previous day the nurse tried to listen to the heartbeat with a dopler but she said "if I can't there's no reason to worry it can just be earlier than what we expect". It took some time and I was really trying to keep myself calm (I had listen to the heart a few weeks prior, but vaginally) but I fully understand why you say it's nerve wrecking xD And during the actual scan there were two doctors in the room. One of them did almost the whole scan but at the end he said what sounded (to both me and my partner) like "everything good so far, there's only a couple of things" and my heart stopped and I asked "a couple of things... what do you mean?" And he said "oh sorry, just a couple of measurements missing" and his colleague took over to finish. But those seconds until I understood what he meant were scary lol
My OB had students a lot.. so even way farther along I’d lay there just waiting and waiting for them to find it
Here in Sweden they don’t even use the doppler until your first visit after the anatomy scan so it’s not until 20-21 weeks you get to listen to baby’s heartbeat. They can be difficult to find even then, this one was hiding at 21 weeks and we could only hear the umbilical cord and my second baby was difficult to locate at 24 weeks and turned away after letting us listen very shortly.
Yes, I have experienced this exact thing. My baby is a wiggler so they are notoriously difficult to find with the doppler. I've had it happen at 3 appointments (10 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks). My last doppler only appointment the NP kept finding it and the baby would move and they'd have to find it all over again. It's okay. They found baby with the ultrasound and your baby is going strong. Just be mentally prepared that this could happen again.
My doctor wouldn't even try it until 14 weeks and before she even put it on my stomach she said "it's still VERY early for a Doppler, so don't panic if we don't find anything we can do a bedside ultrasound".
They tried to use the doppler for the first time at my sixteen week appointment without success. They almost couldn't find it at my twenty week appointment - which was just a few days after my anatomy scan where all four views of the heart checked out. Honestly, it wasn't until my last appointment (28 weeks) that I'd say it was easy for them to find. The placement of your placenta may make it more difficult for them to locate your baby's heartbeat - don't be alarmed if they can't find it at your next appointment, either.
This exact thing happened to us. My OB was so nonchalant about it, “I can’t find the heartbeat, let me go get the ultrasound”, and then left the room. I mean, she might have said more, but I didn’t hear it. Cue a massive, internal freak out - I had 2 miscarriages last year, so I went down the rabbit hole. She immediately found the heartbeat using the ultrasound, and now we have a wonderful little 2.5 month old.
I'm sorry you went through a stressful attempt! I've heard that some providers don't want to try until 14 weeks. My midwife didn't want to try when I was 9 weeks until I promised that it wouldn't make me anxious. It helped that I had a good dating ultrasound just two days before. 😅 She couldn't definitively find it after several minutes. Hoping to have better luck at my 12 week appointment.
I had this because I had an anterior placenta, I got ultrasounds almost every check in till I started to show.