
Your doctor or midwife will place this handheld ultrasound device on your belly to amplify the pitter-patter of the heart. You'll most likely hear fetal cardiac activity with a Doppler at around the 15-week mark. When can you hear your baby’s heartbeat with Doppler?


Later on, at your 20-week ultrasound (also called the level 2 ultrasound), you'll hear - and see - your baby's heartbeat. Chances are, you'll be able to hear some comforting sounds then. It likely just means that your shy guy is hiding in the corner of your uterus or has his back facing out, making it trickier to pick up on an ultrasound.Īt your next appointment, your practitioner will check to make sure everything is okay. You may see (and/or hear) cardiac activity for the first time from week 6 of pregnancy or later if you have an ultrasound at one of your early prenatal appointments, though the timing of when it can be detected can vary a bit.Ĭan't hear the heartbeat yet? Don't worry. The chambers of your baby’s heart will have developed enough to be seen more clearly on an ultrasound by weeks 17 to 20 of pregnancy. The ultrasound will also confirm your estimated due date, and how many babies you're carrying.

If you have a first trimester ultrasound (around or after week 6 of pregnancy), your practitioner or a trained sonographer will check on this embryonic cardiac activity. By week 5 of pregnancy, the cluster of cells that will become your baby's heart has begun to develop and pulse.
