Fetal Heartbeat

Hi, I am a mother to be. I already did an ultrasound and it was quite exciting for me. Everything is going the way it is suppose to be. My doctor scheduled me another appointment on which I will be able to hear heart beats of my baby. I am wondering why is this exam so important and how will it be performed?

Hi, congratulations. The exam you are about to take is performed with the Doppler instrument. It increases the sound that the heart of a baby makes so it will be able for you to hear it. The importance of this test is to determine heart beat rate. Normal heart rate is considered to be between 120 and 160 beats per minute. The heart beats are important because they can show if your baby is getting enough oxygen to develop normally.

Depending on how far along you are, the test is performed with either another ultrasound or a doppler.