‘When do I get to hear my baby’s heartbeats?’
This is one of the most common questions expectant mothers ask.
Today’s modern technologies, such as the fetal doppler and ultrasound, enable earlier detection of the heartbeat of the baby.
Ultrasound allows us to see and hear a beating heart much sooner. Heart beats can be picked up as a “flicker” in the baby’s body around 5 weeks. Moms can listen in on those exciting first heart sounds of their baby a few weeks later, sometime around the 8th week.
With heart being still very tiny at that stage, it may be difficult to find the beating heart in some circumstances. Don’t freak out if this happens. Hearing the heartbeat at early stages will depend upon several factors. If the mom is overweight, it might be harder to hear the heartbeat before 9 weeks.
Hearing your baby’s heartbeat for the first time is a magical moment for expectant parents. That is the first real connection between parents and the baby.
Most of the time moms get to hear baby’s heart beat for the first time at typically between 9 to 12 weeks of pregnancy.
By week 9, the heart rate will be in the range of 150 to 175 beats per minute and it sounds like the galloping of a horse.
By week 12, your baby’s heart is fully developed and growing strong and heart rate averages about 160 to 170 beats a minute.
As autonomic nervous system (which regulates the baby’s heartbeat) is continuing to develop baby’s heartbeat will begin to slow down. For example, at week 20 of pregnancy, the average fetal heart rate is 155 beats per minute, and at week 30, it will decrease to an average of 140 beats per minutes.
Once you hear the baby’s heart beat, you will want to share it with everyone. One way to save this precious moment is to record baby’s heart beats. It can be recorded in a cell phone, on keepsake videos or saved in a recorder placed in a plush toy (see UC Baby Heartbeat Bears). You may listen to this special sound anywhere, anytime.
It would be a great idea to save those heart beats – those precious sounds of the first sign of life. Wouldn’t it be nice to have that recording available for the kids to appreciate when they are older?
When you hear that heart beat, you suddenly understand what it means to love someone for the rest of your life. – UC Baby
Invite families and friends to witness this memorable event of your pregnancy. Celebrate that special child-bonding moment with your loved ones, wherever they are in the world.
There is nothing more beautiful than your baby's heartbeats. Save that sound forever in a UC Baby® Heartbeat Bear®. It's not just a great keepsake, but also an effective way to sooth your baby to sleep.
