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Hearing the Heartbeat
by Cynthia Flynn, CNM, Ph.D.
Q. What is the earliest a heartbeat can be heard?
A.Heartbeats can be SEEN on an ultrasound by seven weeks (from your period, pregnant for five weeks) and sometimes sooner.
Heartbeats can be heard with a good doppler on a thin woman on a lucky day when the baby is in just the right position at about 10 weeks. My own personal record is nine weeks and three days with a VERY cooperative mom and baby. On large women, it may take until 14 weeks to hear with a doppler.
However, with a fetoscope, it's more like 20 weeks.
