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Monday, 09 August 2021 08:10

The Ecstasy of hearing your baby beats

The realisation of the fact that you have a life inside you has taken you to the seventh heaven! You eagerly wait to see your baby inside you. You want to feel its presence in each and every manner possible. There is a hankering to hear your baby’s heartbeat and you’re up for your first scan!

First scans can be scheduled from anywhere between 5th to the 8th week depending on the history of the pregnant woman. Remember to not feel upset if baby’s heartbeat is not seen or heard on the scan done in your 5th week. The scan done at the 5th week will show only a pregnancy sac; the foetus (baby) is too small to be seen on the scan at this stage. In such cases you’ll be recommended to repeat an ultrasound after a fortnight during which heartbeats will be seen or heard.

An ultrasound scan done at around 6 - 8 weeks will be able to pick up your baby’s heartbeat. And for the very first time, you’ll experience a life existing inside you and that can quite be a life changing experience. The heartbeat at this stage is expected to be around 60 – 90 beats/min. The rate of the heartbeat will steadily increase till around 10 weeks; after which it stabilises to around 150 – 160 beats/min.

After the completion of the 3rd month, your baby’s heartbeat shall be heard using a Doppler on your tummy which is an amplifier. In case, if you do not happen to hear the heartbeats, do not assume as if there is something untoward; it only indicates that your baby is slightly hesitant to show up and is facing in such a direction where the Doppler is not able to reach and trace.

By mid-second trimester, you can wallow in the pleasure of hearing your baby’s heartbeats simply through a stethoscope! For a lot of women, this is the time when the reality of a life inside them begins to sink in and they start bonding with the bump. A foetal echocardiogram is usually done at around 22 – 24 weeks by when the baby’s heart is completely developed and its heart functions just like yours.

Expect to hear your baby’s heartbeats from the second trimester at each antenatal check to ensure foetal wellbeing. Stay calm and hopeful, stick to the most appropriate lifestyle and things at each step might be extremely smooth.

Wishing you a healthy and happy birthing!

Published in The Soul Talk