I can no longer find the heartbeat. Has anyone had experience of this?

[HippyMumma23]

I'm just over 14 weeks and I've found the heartbeat from 9 weeks very easily. Scan was the week before last and it was fine.

However I've been trying to find the heartbeat for 2 hours after I had very bad feeling that something was wrong.

I can't find anything. I've flipped and turned, had a very full bladder, had an empty bladder, eaten food, even done a flipping head stand. But there is absolutely no heartbeat.

I've called the early pregnancy unit and I have a scan but not until 10am on Monday.

It's not looking good is it?

Has this happened to anyone else?

 

[sbl]

Have you tried tilting the Doppler downward toward the pubic bone?
Don't panic at 14 weeks baby has so much room in there and could be just playing hide and seek.
Some midwives struggle to find hb at your gestation.
Big hugs

 

[HippyMumma23]

I have tried that yes. I've tried all the tricks.

If I find out that everything is fine then I'm chucking the doppler away and never using it again!

 

[dan-o]

Sometimes baby hides behind the pelvic bone. I would try again a bit later. Mine was quite high at 14w, my MW was surprised. About and inch below my belly button on the left side. xx

 

[xdxxtx]

My first-born was a GOOD HIDER. I didn't start with the doppler until 14 weeks, but he was always so hard to find that I just put it away. He hid throughout the entire pregnancy, and my OB (who's been doing this for well over a decade!) couldn't find him most of the time. I was always getting ultrasounds just to check his heart rate because of how well he hid. I'm not kidding - at my last appointment at 38 weeks along, we still had to do an ultrasound because of how well he hid from the doppler. We could hear him kicking and moving around, but he would hide his heart from us. lol... When I was in labor with him, they had to literally screw a probe into the top of his head to keep him monitored because they couldn't pick up his heart on the sensors. He's 5 now and the healthiest child you'll ever meet, but darn it, he scared me a LOT during the pregnancy!!!!

I'm now on my fifth pregnancy, and I've never had a child who was able to hide like that again! This baby, I can pick up in a second on the doppler! That was the case for ALL of my other kids - no other hiders. I hope you've just got a good hider, too. There's really no way to know what's going on unless you happen to find the heart tones or get that ultrasound done... Take a break from it... Take a mental health weekend if you can... Have a warm bath... Go back to it later, but try really, really hard not to stress over it. Like I said, I had a 7+lb baby we couldn't find on doppler, so there is plenty of room for your little 3 1/2 inch fetus to hide.

 

[Sarahcake]

My MW won't even attempt to find baby on a Doppler until 16 weeks at least and even then she doesn't garentee that she will find them.

I had one whilst pregnant with my son and I caused myself far more worry and stress than anything else. That's the reason I won't have one for this pregnancy, I know id become to reliant on hearing the heartbeat and then panic like mad if I couldn't one day.

I'm sure all will be fine for your scan sweet try not to panic yourself x

 

[HippyMumma23]

Thank you. Dan-O my uterus is very high too, I can feel my fundal height just by my belly button.

What worries me is that the heartbeat was SO easy to find and now it's totally absent.

 

[dan-o]

Right well, in that case, I would try after a selection of various things! Try after eating, drink a cold drink then try again. Try before having a wee and after having a wee. Bet you find it! Little devils can hide so easily! I find mine hid often if I was bloated. Xxx

 

[HippyMumma23]

Thank you. I've tried all of that apart from cold water.

I've been trying on and off for 7 hours, I get that babies move but for sure it would be detectable in that time given that I've found it so easily before.

I have a scan at the early pregnancy unit on Monday morning at least so I will know for definite soon anyway.

 

[Bbari2018]

Maybe you have an anterior placenta? I heard it may make finding the baby more difficult.

 

[everything]

I think I was about 14 weeks when one time I just couldn't find the heartbeat, it lasted a few hours before I found it but it didn't really feel good not finding it. I finally found it after emptying my bladder and then laying at an incline but it took a while.
I really hope your little one is just hiding

 

[teacup]

I couldn't find the heartbeat until about 17 weeks, and the doctor couldn't find it so I was sent for a scan. Turned out baby was facing away towards my back, and apparently it's hard for the Doppler to pick up the sound through the baby's spine. Try not to worry, the baby is so tiny, and it only means it probably has changed position and snuggled down towards your back. Everything will be fine, don't worry. xx

 

[HippyMumma23]

Thank you.

I've been wondering tonight whether im actually only 13 weeks. Which would explain the lack of HB and movements more so.

By my dates I'm 13 weeks but my scan put me forward a week. The only way I'm 14 weeks is if we had sex during my period (I have short but clock work cycles) which we didn't.

I wonder if that explains it...

 

[HippyMumma23]

Or perhaps I'm just clutching at straws

 

[superfrizbee]

My midwife couldn't find my dd's heart beat at 16 weeks. We went off for the hospital to check but she was fine. I agree with pp who said about an anterior placenta. Yours is bigger and more formed now, baby will be wriggling and flipping all over the place now so it really is very likely that they're hiding somewhere. Hope you find it soon. X

 

[pinkpassion]

I don't have any advice but wanted to send virtual bugs!!!! I hope you receive good news Monday!!

 

[HippyMumma23]

Thank you. Still can't find it this morning. I get that the baby hides but it's been 24 hours almost and it would have moved by now if everything was ok.

 

[lauraloo24]

Its not happened to me, but have read about a woman who experienced the same thing, was finding the heartbeat for weeks and suddenly couldn't. Had a scan and baby was fine, it was hiding behind the placenta - hoping its something similar for you!

ETA - The baby stayed hidden behind the placenta and she couldn't find heartbeat on doppler for several days. Don't lose hope!

 

[HippyMumma23]

Thank you.

Sometimes I think I feel movement then I wonder if it was in my head or just wind.

 

[teacup]

Honestly don't worry about it, the baby might have been turned to the front before and now it's just got comfy swimming about near the back. Midwives don't even look for the heartbeat that early because the baby is so tiny you find it one minute and then not the next. Baby is fine. xx