Any Problems with Dr. Finding Heartbeats with Doppler?

Hi ladies,

I wanted to ask if you are experiencing any difficulty with your doctor being able to detect both heartbeats with their dopplers during your OB appointments? I'm going to guess that there are a million different reasons a doctor could have trouble finding them - size of the patient, position of the babies, how far along you are. I just didn't know if anyone else has experienced this?

At our 12 week appointment our doctor seemed to search forever, seriously, and then found 1 heartbeat and that was that. We ended up having an ultrasound because I had some brown spotting a few weeks before and both babies were doing fine. But without that u/s confirmation I would have been freaked out of my mind. I didn't know if it was because it was still early or because of my size (I'm definitely on the larger size) and if this was something that would be common. We have our 16 week appointment in a week and a half and I'm just trying to mentally prepare myself for her not being able to find both...but thought I'd ask if anyone has ran into this?

 

We had this issue very often. In fact, it was one of the benefits to having so many U/S (almost every appointment after 20 weeks, for one reason or another). When we just used the doppler, he would have so much trouble finding the heartbeats. Especially because, as he mentioned, often we would just read an "echo" or like an indirect heartbeat, and he couldn't be sure that one was different from the first. Almost like, he'd read Baby A's heartbeat, and then when he found the other, it might have been Baby A's foot or something, so he had to make sure he got a direct line, right on Baby B's heart. Does that make sense?

The worst was the few times I had to do NSTs!!! They would line them up, and then the babies would move, and the heartbeats would disappear. And then it would take FOREVER for them to find them again.

Don't worry! Hopefully your doctor will do U/S often enough to keep you from worrying too much. And maybe she'll get better as the babies get bigger.

 

My OB used the doppler at every visit but never relied on it to confirm 2 heartbeats. She always did a quick ultrasound. Her reasoning was because it's too difficult to differentiate between each babies heartbeats (or mine for that matter.) I don't think your doctor could know for sure that he only found one heartbeat.. I would ask for an u/s at every visit. That's really the only way to confirm.. Good luck!

 

My doc usually had a hard time finding both heartbeats too! Once, when he and my DH were discussing football, he forgot to check for Baby B's heartbeat!!! I told them both they could not discuss football during the delivery, so he would remember to deliver both of them!! LOL!!

Seriously, though, I think the babies move around so much, especially when they are still little and there is more room in there. I think when mine got a little bigger, it was easier for him to find the heartbeats, but then, we were having more u/s at that point too.

Hope all goes well for you!

 

Every single appt. Seriously. For both of my twin pregnancies, they would try using the doppler, and always send me for an ultrasound. Sometimes the doc would get both, but they were so close in frequency that they weren't sure they were getting 2 separate ones.

Don't stress about it. It's so normal!

 

Same here.... my fav is the techs always just assume I have one so we like to ask them when they walk away "Was that baby A or B?" Makes them feel dumb lol. READ MY CHART lol. Then we get an ultrasound hehehe.

 

We had trouble getting both heartbeats too! It tended to be Baby A's as he was in a position that didn't give us a good aim at back or chest. It was kinda freaky - and even at my NST we had trouble getting both - it always tracked one baby. I didn't have the assurance tho of an u/s at each appt where I live - I barely got in for regular ones to check growth.

 

Okay, that makes me feel a bit better. I think we start our high risk ultrasounds at 18 weeks, getting one every 4 weeks until a certain point. I just hate the thought of only hearing 1 heartbeat at a 16 week appt. and then waiting 2 weeks to see an ultrasound. The dr. said it was extremely normal too, but I couldn't decide if she was being flippant or sincere. Especially since I mentioned the spotting and she made a comment that maybe it was only 1 baby now...that's why I pressed for the u/s follow up last time. I don't want to be a pain and ask for a follow up u/s every time if she only finds 1 heartbeat, but I guess I'm just a worry wart and want to know my kiddos are still baking Thank you all SO much for the reassurance that this is completely normal!

 

My doctor couldn't reliably find both heartbeats until at least 16 weeks. I wound up having unscheduled u/s at 10 and 12 weeks because she couldn't find them. And my uterus isn't even tilted or any of the other things that can make it hard to find both. I just think dopplers are not all that precise.

Wow -- I hope she said that in a compassionate way and not an offhand way. :unsure:

 

My Ob said she won't even try with the doppler. She will just pull the portable u/s machine in to check the haertbeats at each visit.

I'm using my doppler at home, and *think* I may be getting two seperate heartbeats, but I'm not sure.....

 

Hey Stephanie,

Again, your pregnancy and mine are similar. I've only gotten one on the doppler, too, but I'm only 12 weeks along. I've chalked the single heartbeat up to A being my go-getter. A hogged the ultrasound time, too. B hid behind A playing peek-a-boo, but B was there - heart beating away. Judging from all of the comments above, and in my non-medical opinion, it sounds like the doppler is best when you're only looking for one baby.

BUT, more importantly you should NOT feel like a pain or a worry wart for asking for a follow-up ultrasound.

These are your babies. You have every right to ask. If your doc denies you, that tells you more about your doc than it does about you. I think because our docs do this everyday, they forgot how "inexperienced" we moms are. We only do this a handfull of times in our lives and we appreciate the reassurance. So be bold - ask away.

Amy

 

I'm quite surprised he's even trying this early. I was in the hospital for a separate issue at 24 weeks and every single nurse that tried to capture them with doppler struggled. It's just more difficult... I wouldn't worry too much. This is why a perinatologist uses u/s to detect the hb that early.

 

I wish I could say she didn't, but yeah that's what she said...definitely wasn't said with much compassion, but I took it as purely a medical statement - but it did catch me by surprise. She's a good doctor, but I think she could work on her bed side manner a bit.

 

Thanks Amy! I think in my heart I know that I'm going to have to ask and ask and just get used to it and not worry about what she thinks. Our next appointment is on the 13th and I'm hoping to get a follow up u/s before we leave town for Thanksgiving - I think that will hit just about the time that they'd start doing the increased monitoring anyways, so I'm hoping she won't hedge or make me have to be more forceful than necessary.

LIS!

 

I think it's pretty common to have trouble finding the hbs at 12 weeks with doppler. They had trouble this time around with my little one at that stage. Also, you really can't confirm that you are hearing 2 separate hbs unless they are 10bpm off from each other. Within 5bpm and you can't be sure you are really hearing a second baby or just the first one again... We had frequent u/s with my twin pregnancy, not every appointment, but once a month at the perinatologist at the least just to check on the babies.

 

My Dr never once used a doppler at my appointments, she always did an u/s because she said the doppler wasn't reliable in twin pregnancies. Good Luck! :hug:

 

My OB has always used the doppler and gotten both babies. Mine have always been very clearly on the right and left hand sides of my belly so it's been easy to find them and distinguish which is which. Plus they are always moving and I have u/s often enough that the doppler is more of just a fun reassurance, but we always know that they are okay anyways

 

I went to the dr at 12 weeks 1 day today and was petrified after reading these posts that the heartbeats would be difficult to hear since my dr's office does not have an ultrasound machine but she picked them both up right away. One was in the 160's and the other was in the 150's. She said both sounded good and it was wonderful to hear them for myself too!

 

orginal ob totally missed jessy with the doppler. We didn't find out there was 2 until the u/s 2 weeks later at 24 weeks