normal for 12 week appt?

i am 12 1/2 weeks pregnant, and i had an appt. today. my husband and i were so excited because we thought we would finally know - FOR SURE - whether or not we were having twins. (an ultrasound confirmed two at 9 weeks, but we were still concerned with vanishing twin.)

the doc listened with the doppler and heard one heartbeat for two seconds (literally), and then stopped. what!?? when i asked him if he was going to listen for another, he said there would be no way of deciphering two separate heartbeats this early. he didn't even try.

i was bummed. i mean, really. cut a neurotic girl some slack. my next ultrasound isn't until 20 weeks. how do i tell people that it's twins when we've never even heard two heartbeats?

is this normal behavior for a pompous male doc??

-k

 

Hi there...I would DITCH the Dr. and get a new one! I would have thought that they would have done another ultra sound at this point.
I am sorry that you had to endure his behavior!

Missy

: )

 

My doc wouldn't try to listen for either heartbeat at my 11 week appt b/c she said it's too hard to distinguish the heartbeats and sometimes hard to even pick them up. However, I had just had an u/s the week before, and she set one up for a few weeks after that. It sounds very strange that she would listen for one and not the other. Does she want to see you again soon, or make you wait another month??

 

QUOTE(xavier2001 @ Sep 6 2007, 08:03 PM) [snapback]396198[/snapback]
My doc wouldn't try to listen for either heartbeat at my 11 week appt b/c she said it's too hard to distinguish the heartbeats and sometimes hard to even pick them up. However, I had just had an u/s the week before, and she set one up for a few weeks after that. It sounds very strange that she would listen for one and not the other. Does she want to see you again soon, or make you wait another month??


i'm so confused. i don't go back for another four weeks, but i don't have an ultrasound until 20 weeks - which is in eight weeks. it was so disappointing.

 

I think I agree with the pp and ditch this Dr. My dr. never even bothered with the doppler, she always went straight for the U/S because she also said that its impossible to decipher the 2 heartbeats. But I think I too would have been neurotic if 1) My twins were still not confirmed at that point & 2) I still had to wait 8 weeks to get that confirmation.

If getting another Dr. isn't an option, and you REALLY want to know you could pay for a 4D U/S to know for sure, or they sell those Dopplers to use at home. Just an idea to hopefully help get you through the next few weeks. Good Luck!

 

I'm sure that was frustrating. I didn't hear the heartbeats with a doppler until we were doing NSTs. However, I was seeing the specialist by 13 wks (when we found out it was twins), who used a little u/s every visit.

I'm sorry your doc wasn't very understanding; it would be easier to switch now as opposed to later when you're further along.

 

Hi,
That definitely wouldn't have satisfied me either. I'm sorry you went through that. I have heard most women here say their drs don't even both with Dopplers b/c you can't distinguish them. I had an u/s at 10 weeks with my OB, then 12 weeks (nuchal scan) and my next scheduled one is at 18 weeks. Last week the nurse practitioner did the doppler and I didn't throw a fit because I was in a good mood and felt okay about things at that point. However, next week I see the OB again and I will insist on an u/s if she doesn't do it naturally. I agree, you're wanting to tell people and you deserve confirmation that both babies are well. You might want to call and request an u/s now. I don't think it's unreasonable, and it will give you an idea of whether your OB is going to be a good match for your needs.

 

QUOTE(MissyEby @ Sep 6 2007, 08:00 PM) [snapback]396194[/snapback]
Hi there...I would DITCH the Dr. and get a new one! I would have thought that they would have done another ultra sound at this point.
I am sorry that you had to endure his behavior!

Missy

: )

i agree with this. i would expect another u/s at this point b/c then they can count the heartbeat on the u/s even if they can't hear it. they were able to do that at about 7 weeks for me. i think it is a sign of things to come with this doc.

 

I started going to my doctor at 11 weeks and she does a quick ultrasound scan every time. She's had me go every two weeks from the beginning despite a very good pregnancy. I would suggest looking into seeing another doctor.

 

I would go for another dr too...they found and heard our 2 heartbeats via internal ultrasound at 6 weeks-I was seeing a specialist for infertility.
My OB did an internal sono at 10 weeks and we saw the 2 heartbeats...there is no reason why you should have to wait to 20 weeks in today's day of technology! I would go find out sooner than later...

 

Hi
You must be just behind me due date wise. Your DR is exactly like mine. My twins were detected at 7w 6d via an early dating u/s. Next appointment was at 10w. We could hear one heart beat for maybe 2 seconds and that was it. He too said that it would be too early and hard to decipher 2 seperate heart beats. I didn't freak out too much then. Fast forward to 12w and I really started to panic as I am without insurance for this month since I took a new job. They agreed to have me come in for a heart tone check and couldn't find it with doppler. I of course started crying, although I really didn't think anything was wrong. They did an u/s right away and we were able to confirm everything is ok. Mind you, I don't get another u/s until my 20w big u/s and then every 4 weeks after that. I just assumed it was "normal". I really do like my DR as he was my ob for both of my other kids, so I hate to change, but I would like more confirmation that things are going well. On the flip side, things have been perfect for me so far so I have no reason to think things aren't fine. Sorry for stealing your thread :huh: I would call your DR and just explain that you aren't comfortable waiting that long for confirmation that everything is fine. I just told my DR about how much anxiety I was experiencing as a result. Hope that helps.

Stacy

 

Mine never used a doppler either. He too said it was too hard to find both or tell the difference. He always did a real quick peek with the u/s at each appointment. No measurements or anything indepth, just checking the heart rates.

 

My Doc at 13 weeks and 2 days only heard 1 heartbeat and requested an ultrasound because he had said by 13 weeks we should be able to hear 2. My nurse also told me early in pregnancy to drink lots of fluids before hand, she said it was easier to hear the heartbeats with a full blatter. At my appointment after that one my Doc listened for 1 heart and forgot about the other one, So when I asked he listed to baby B.

 

We have never done doppler either.. always have a u/s at every appointment. Its hard to tell or hear even if there are two..

 

you definately should have had an u/s...having twins isn't something you should be "wondering" about...you should know this. its a high risk pregnancy automatically if its twins...I'm shocked by this!

 

My doctor didn't even know I was having twins until my ultrsound at 20 weeks. He would hear a heartbeat and then he was done. He had no reason to look for another. Gosh I wish he would have. I was completly in shock at my ultrasound when there were two little bambinos on the screen. He wouldn't even let me have an ultrasound before twenty weeks. He still sees me once a month, considers me low risk, even though my first pregnancy with one baby was high risk. He is ordering another ultrasound to check and see if my babies are growing o.k.

Switch doctor's he should have tried to listen, just to set your mind at ease. That is stress you don't deserve.

 

My midwife told me unless you have 2 dopplers and 2 people to listen to the hearbeats there is no point in doing it because you might just be hearing the same heartbeat. I would agree with everyone else i would ask for a U/S just to make sure. I think sitting for another 8 weeks not knowing if you are definetly having 2 would drive me crazy! Where are you from? x

 

I agree with everyone else. Get a new doc or ask them to do another u/s before your next scheduled one! My ob always does an u/s- every visit! She also listens to their hb's, but only after she's seen them both on u/s. She says it's way too difficult to distinguish 2 different hb's. Good luck!

 

My OB wouldn't even attempt it- he just did an u/s to confirm the two h/bs. If you're not stuck on this OB, it would be a great time to change since you're still so early.

 

Wow, I would've been angry to. I would probably call them back and demand either another u/s or a doppler check. I know at 12 weeks it can be hard to find the heart beats via doppler. at my 12 weeks apt. with the twins, they could only find one. My OB tookme back for a quick u/s and made sure she found both of them before I left the apt. After that, they had no trouble finding both on the doppler. They were always on complete opposite sides of my belly. After 12 weeks, I didn't have another u/s until 20 weeks.

You would think since they were worried about vanishing twin that they would've done an u/s to check. weird.

 

My doctor said the same thing at my 12 week appointment BUT, they did a quick u/s to make sure 2 hearts were beating. That seems very odd that they didn't check for 2 heart beats.

 

I'd find a new doc. If there were 2 sac seen, they should try to find 2 heartbeats. That being said, my peri never used the doppler to find heartbeats, I always got a quickie U/S to find them both. That was every 1-3 weeks (I was there often).

 

I don't think it's abnormal... One thing you have to realize is that in order to really say for sure that you are hearing two different hbs they have to be more than 10bpm off from each other. (you can hear the same heart from more than one location on your belly!! So how would you really know that you are hearing a second hb unless it was significantly different from the first hb even then it's possible for the first baby's hb to decelerate in the time it took for the doc to move the doppler probe across your belly. ) Many times even frat twins aren't that different...mine never were. So at none of my appts did the doctor attempt to find two hbs. I always wondered what the point of using the doppler at all was...there really wasn't much point. Guess what I'm trying to say is that your doc could tell you that "here's the first hb..and here's the second hb." But he would know that in reality he can't be 100% sure that he got both hbs without doing an u/s. But I had more frequent u/s appts so that made me feel better. Hopefully, you'll have another u/s soon to make you feel better.

 

the same thing happened to me when i was 11 weeks they couldn't do the doppler b/c it was too early to listen to the hb and plus the babies at this point are very low in your uterus,well in my case my dc never waited soo long to do an u/s,if i were u i would go in at four weeks and see if he does it there if not u should find another dc that gives u more relief and comfort and takes better care of u and your preg!!!!!

good luck!!!

 

I just went in on Tuesday at 11w2d and they were able to hear both babies with the doppler. It did take her a long time to find them, but she was very thorough and said if she couldn't find them we would do an u/s. They were very low and on opposite sides of my belly. One was 170 and the other was 179. I have my nuchal u/s on Wednesday, so hearing the heart tones was enough to set my mind at ease.

I agree with others, I would look for a different doctor that is willing to set your mind at ease. Good luck to you!!!