Hello, I just had my first ultrasound and found out I was 7 weeks 1 day pregnant. The baby's heart rate was 145 bpm. I thought that was fine, but the doctor thought that it should be between 160-170 by now and that we'll just need to wait and see if the baby will make it. He did not mention any other problems, except that he was having trouble getting the sound to work on the ultrasound machine. I could see the heart beating, but I didn't get to hear it. I am really shaken by this. I was hoping to get confirmation of a healthy pregnancy. As soon as the Dr left the room, I started doing research on my phone and could not find any indication that 145 was a bad heart rate for 7 weeks. Has anyone else had this experience or had a Dr. that was OK with a lower heart rate?
That was REALLY early for an ultrasound. I didn't get my first until I was 12 weeks along.
STOP STRESSING! You can't make the baby's heart beat faster. Get OFF the internet - you'll work yourself into a tizzy.
Be happy you're pregnant! CONGRATULATIONS!!
It's more than likely the estimated age is off by a bit.
The ONLY way to be %100 sure of gestational age is if you did IVF and absolutely KNOW when fertilization took place.
A normal heartbeat at 6-7 weeks would be 90-110 beats per minute.
A normal heartbeat at about 8 weeks, starts at 149 and ends at 172 bpm.
So relax!
I wouldn't worry that there's anything wrong.
It's just really hard to pin point gestational age.
Any date they estimate is always 2 weeks give or take.
It just looks like you are closer to 8 weeks pregnant than 7 weeks pregnant.
From what I recall, my boy had barely over 100 bpm at 6 weeks from my last period. That was thought to be the minimum acceptable. At about 8 weeks he had appro 140 bpm. He was always on the lower end of the acceptable range and somewhere I read that this can happen with boy embryos. Maybe you are having a boy? I'm glad you don't seem too worried, noting that nowhere you have found corroborating evidence that this is a bad heart rate. My child is now 5 years old and very healthy. So, I'd say keep your good attitude and try not to stress to much about this. For peace of mind, you could ask the doctor to re-do the u/s in a week or so?
Just wait... it's probably fine.
These days, prenatal care is waaay TMI.
I noticed a difference just between my first (born 2007) and my 3rd (born 2014). The most serious ultrasound we had for my first, she took a few measurements, told us the gender, and showed us a few grainy pictures.
My 3rd, it was a full on digital, 3D ordeal, with 1,000 measurments and new things to worry about. First it was the "mild pylectis" (too much kidney fluid) which "could" be a marker for down syndrome, which is *that* much more probable with my age being *that* much more advanced... then it was some random measurement in his cranium that didn't *quite* match up with the norm... requiring a neonatal MRI... fast forward to now, my son is 14mo old and totally FINE... I swear all the advancements in technology in the past 7 years really only served to attempt to suck the joy out of my pregnancy.
IF things don't normalize at the next appt, which they probably will, I think your next step would be an echocardiogram. If your insurance covers it, you should ask about it, it's not invasive or anything. Most heart related issues can be fixed with medication during pregnancy, neonatal procedures, or surgical intervention post-birth. Don't get too shaken up. In the old days, you'd be clueless and trusting your body and intuition and enjoying your pregnancy.
Congrats!
i'm a little surprised that the doctor would even mention that. everyone (including developing fetuses) have heart rates that fluctuate a little depending on what's going on, and 145 is pretty much in the realm of 'normal' anyway, or actually on the high side. 160-170 sounds like a good rate for a much older fetus.
anyway, when you're pregnant you want a doctor who reassures you. we tend to be subject to more fears when we're expecting, and don't need our professionals to give us more to stress about. hmph.
khairete
S.
Amen, Shannon R. Way TMI. I know many, many moms (including myself) who had huge panic attacks over something on some test that turned out to be nothing. I also know 3 moms with babies with chromosomal abnormalities and one mom with a baby with major heart defects...none of which were identified prior to birth. And all four of their children are amazing, thriving people.
There are wide differences in people's results - I was pregnant with co-workers during most of my pregnancies and we'd come back from our checkups, and have widely differing results - and our babies were all fine.
Even between my kids, heartbeats, etc. were all different. Keep in mind, if there was a real concern, they treat it pretty seriously - so I would think this was just something they noted. From what I recall that doesn't sound low .. but I don't think I was ever tested (ultrasound) at 7 weeks.
The more advanced the machines, the more info you will get. So by my last pregnancy (and was a mature mom, so had more tests done) I was getting info left and right that I didn't have with the earlier ones. Some of it is alarming - the slightest mention of anything you're like "What does that mean?" totally natural. But stay off the internet.
I'd be worried one visit, and by the next it was fine. I think like babies, embryos can develop at slightly different rates, so don't worry.
Congratulations on your pregnancy :)
These days technology seems to increase our anxiety way more than necessary. Seven weeks is SO early, please just breathe and try to relax. My two had completely opposite heart rates - one high, one low. Do you have a tilted uterus, by any chance? That affected my kids' heart rate readings considerably. Try to see if another doc can do your next checkup. Most importantly, what was observed was completely normal and healthy for seven weeks. Congratulations and please keep us posted. It's too early to go into panic mode. It's natural and we've all been there ... but try not to stress. =)
