The heartrate should be heard, to be certain, some time during the first trimester. When exactly the heartrate should be heard during the first trimester will vary from one woman to the next, and even from one pregnancy to the next. There are a variety of factors that go into when the heartrate will be heard during the first trimester, including what sort of equipment is being used to try to hear the heartrate, as well as the physical build of the mother.
It may be possible that the heartrate would be heard at just about five weeks along during the first trimester. The baby’s heart begins to beat at some time around four weeks to five weeks into the first trimester, but cannot always be detected quite so early. In most cases, a baby’s heartrate could be heard by about 8 weeks of pregnancy using a transvaginal ultrasound. It isn’t necessarily common or regular practice for a woman to have a transvaginal ultrasound at this point during the first trimester, however. A Doppler test can typically detect the heartrate at around 9 or 10 weeks of pregnancy. Using a standard stethoscope, you should be able to hear your baby’s heartrate during the second trimester, at around week 18 of pregnancy. If you have a bigger build, it can add between 1 and 3 weeks to the time before a Doppler or a stethoscope may be able to hear your baby’s heartrate. In some cases, it can be during the final days of the first trimester, at around week 13 or even 14, that your baby’s heartrate can be heard using a Doppler.
- Generally speaking, you will be able to see your baby on an ultrasound about the same time that you would be able to hear your baby’s heartrate during the first trimester. In some cases, you may be able to see your baby on an ultrasound even a little bit earlier than you would be able to hear the heartrate during the first trimester. It may be able to detect a pregnancy as early as five weeks of pregnancy using an ultrasound, although the 9th to 10th week of pregnancy is more common.