Your baby now has a fairly audible heartbeat

By now, your baby's heart has been beating anywhere between 120 to 140 beats per minute. As the pregnancy progresses, the heart rate gradually decreases. Using Fetal Doppler, an ultrasound device on your belly, the heartbeat of your baby is audible. In case you are not able to hear the heartbeat, it could be that your little one is hiding in the corner of the uterus or has the back facing out. Due to the position, the doppler is not able to pick up the heartbeat. Another situation where the doppler is not able to pick up a heartbeat prior to 14 weeks could be due to the limitations of dopplers during early pregnancy. However, the doctor would check with the help of an ultrasound to ensure all is fine.

Fetal heartbeat is a great assurance that the baby's heart is doing fine. Besides heartbeat, the doctor will also check to see if there is a congenital heart defect condition. If you are drinking alcohol, smoking, not taking folic acid, have a high blood sugar, your baby is at an increased risk of heart defects. Hence, take good care of your health by quitting alcohol and smoking, having folic acid as prescribed by the doctor and control your blood sugar. This way your baby will have a heart that is as healthy as possible.