Do pregnant women use a stethoscope to listen to the fetal heart rate?

When a woman is pregnant for a certain period of time, the fetus in her belly will start to feel a heartbeat. If she goes to the hospital for a pregnancy check-up at this time, she can use scientific instruments to detect whether the fetal heartbeat is normal. In addition, in daily life, expectant mothers all want to know whether the fetal heartbeat is normal, but they can't go to the hospital for a check-up every time. So they will think of using a stethoscope to listen to the fetal heartbeat. Is this approach scientific?

Do pregnant women use a stethoscope to listen to the fetal heart rate?

A question that every pregnant mother will ask during pregnancy is, can the fetal heartbeat be heard with a stethoscope? We are all familiar with stethoscopes in our daily life. When we go to the doctor for a cold or fever, the doctor will take out a stethoscope to listen to the fetal heartbeat. So can pregnant mothers use a stethoscope to listen to the fetal heartbeat themselves? How to use it?

Can pregnant women listen to the fetal heart rate with a stethoscope?

The fetal heartbeat can be heard through the pregnant woman's abdominal wall with a stethoscope at around 18-20 weeks. The fetal heartbeat is double-tone, 120-160 times per minute. In the late pregnancy, it is very important to practice listening to the fetal heart rate, which is very similar to the ticking sound of a clock. An experienced doctor can use a stethoscope to hear the fetal heart beat through the pregnant woman's abdominal wall. Expectant parents must pay attention to fetal heart monitoring in the later stages. Once the fetal movement suddenly stops, the fetal movement becomes obviously frequent, or there are other abnormal manifestations, you must seek medical attention in time. The stethoscope has relatively high technical requirements for finding the fetal heart rate, and the sound is relatively small, so it is not easy for ordinary people to find it.

How do pregnant women listen to the fetal heart rate with a stethoscope?

If it is a head position, with the fetus head facing downwards, you can listen to the sound at the lower right or left side of the mother's navel. If it is a breech position, with the fetus's buttocks at the bottom, then listen to the upper right or left side of the pregnant mother's navel. If the patient is in a horizontal position, listen at the mother's navel. Of course, family members will not feel the fetal position, but it doesn’t matter. As long as the pregnant mother remembers the fetal position mentioned by the doctor during the examination and the position to listen to the fetal heart rate, she can just do it accordingly. After 24 weeks of pregnancy, fetal heart sounds are most clearly heard on one side of the fetal back.

Before listening to the fetal heartbeat, the pregnant mother should urinate first, lie on her back on the bed with her legs straight, and let the expectant father gently place the fetal heart stethoscope or simple stethoscope on the position where the fetal heartbeat is clearest, listen carefully, count carefully, and listen for one minute each time. If the fetal heart rate is more than 160 beats or less than 120 beats per minute, or the rhythm is irregular, it may be a sign of fetal distress and you must go to the hospital immediately.

In fact, in daily life, pregnant mothers can observe the baby's heartbeat by themselves through a stethoscope or fetoscope. Stethoscopes can be purchased at ordinary pharmacies. Generally speaking, it is a more practical method. It depends on how the pregnant mother chooses.