You can hear a baby's heartbeat during pregnancy at different times depending on the method used:
- By transvaginal ultrasound, a fetal heartbeat can sometimes be detected as early as 6 to 7 weeks of pregnancy. At this early stage, it appears as a small flicker on the screen and the sound may not always be audible yet.
- With routine abdominal ultrasound checks, the heartbeat is more commonly detected and heard between 8 to 10 weeks of pregnancy when the baby's heart has become stronger.
- Using a Doppler device at a prenatal visit, many women can hear the heartbeat around 10 to 12 weeks into pregnancy, which is the most common detection period in the first trimester.
- At home, hearing a baby's heartbeat with a regular stethoscope is generally possible only after about 18 to 20 weeks of pregnancy, because the sound needs to be strong enough and close enough to the mother's abdomen to be heard with this method.
In summary, the earliest you can typically detect the fetal heartbeat is about 6 weeks by transvaginal ultrasound, with audible heartbeat commonly heard by Doppler around 8 to 12 weeks, and with a stethoscope from about 18 weeks onward.
