
You may need to undress from the waist down and put on a hospital gown, or you can pull your pants below your belly. Listening to your baby’s heart at your practitioner’s office is simple and straightforward. What happens when your baby is tracked in utero with a Doppler?

The sound of your baby’s heart can reveal a lot about her overall health, so it’s completely normal for your practitioner to use a fetal heart rate monitor at every prenatal checkup starting sometime in your second trimester. Reasons your practitioner will use a fetal heart monitor during your pregnancy Your doctor might start listening to your baby’s heart at your three-month checkup.Īfter the first time, you can expect him or her to check cardiac activity at every visit. You can usually hear fetal cardiac activity on a Doppler monitor for the first time around week 10 of pregnancy, but the timing can vary a bit. When will my doctor use a fetal Doppler baby heart monitor? Starting some time in your second trimester, your practitioner will use one to check your baby’s heart rate and rhythm, which can offer insight into how your sweet pea is growing and developing in utero. What is a fetal heart monitor?Ī fetal heart monitor is a handheld Doppler device that uses ultrasound technology to listen to a baby’s heart during pregnancy. A position change might be all it takes to get your baby kicking again.Here’s a look at what fetal heart monitors are, when and why your practitioner might use one, the benefits and risks, and whether it’s worth using an over-the-counter heart monitor at home. If you're lying down, roll over, and if you're standing, sit down, or vice versa. Talking or singing to them or playing music could rouse them if they are sleeping or motivate them to kick or wiggle if they're relaxed. Babies develop the ability to hear sounds inside the womb at around 18 weeks and outside the womb at around 28 weeks gestation. Slowing down and taking time to rest and relax can help you become more aware of slight fetal movements that you may have missed while you were busy. Relax and tune into your body's sensations.A small jolt of energy provided by the sugar may be enough to stimulate fetal movement. Similar to drinking juice, eating will cause an increase in your blood sugar, which will, in turn, cause an increase in your baby's blood sugar. Light exercise can rouse a sleeping baby and encourage movement. Get up and walk around for a bit or do some gentle exercise.Gentle palpation at the level of the baby's head can illicit movement in older fetuses. Massage or press your belly to see if the baby kicks back.Additionally, research has shown that the sugar in juice can also stimulate movement. There is some evidence that a change in temperature can encourage your baby to move. Your baby is too small for their movement to be felt regularly.If your baby's head has dropped down into the pelvis to prepare for delivery, they may be less active. This is common as your due date approaches and your baby gets closer to its birth weight and size.


By the time they reach 38 weeks gestation, babies sleep as much as 95% of the day. In the womb, babies typically sleep for 20-45 minutes at a time, several times a day. Your movement may lull your baby to sleep, or when you're busy running around, you may not notice the activity happening in your belly.

Both responses are completely normal during the second and third trimesters. The rhythmic movements of sex and orgasm can cause your baby to sleep. Some babies become more active after you've had sex, and others become less active.
