Fetal Heart Beat « Back to Group Discussions

[DawningSun]

Hello ladies. I am wondering (if you've heard your baby's heartbeat) what was the beats per minute? Today the midwife clocked them at 160 beats a minute. I feel like that is kind of high but she says it is normal at this stage; but none of my other babies were in the 160's (at least that I know of.)

So has your baby or previous babies had a high heart rate?

Thanks for sharing :)

[texasfarmom]

The baby wouldn't stay still long enough to get a bpm count, but my mw said it sounded in the 160s to her. She has LOTS of experience so she is probably pretty close. I think I remember my DD's heartbeat being pretty high, I think even in the 160s when she was a tiny thing.

[eleuthia]

Mine was between 160-170 last week (at 10 weeks), which was normal. 

[Thebyr]

176 at 8 weeks 4 days and still in the 170s the other day at 12 weeks. They said that was normal and that it's usually higher in the beginning - it should get slower later on.

[Knitting Mama]

160s at 11 weeks. Heartrate also changes depending on how much the baby's been moving (just like us), so if it's higher, he/she could have been wiggling a lot!

[LittleBirdy]

My baby's heart rate was 160 bpm at 12.5 weeks.

[Ninetales]

At 12w3d mine was 145.  It was an estimate because it kept moving around.  My sister said her first averaged in the 180s, so 160 doesn't seem that high.

[marinak1977]

176 at 10 weeks 5 days.

[Willovia]

We just heard our first heartbeat the night before last. A huge relief. I'm 12 weeks and baby's heart rate was about 160.

[Sol_y_Paz]

8 weeks and 176.  Then 11 weeks it was 168.

Here are some more HB's

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1341036/your-babys-first-heartbeat

Edited by Sol_y_Paz - 1/28/12 at 7:21pm

[DawningSun]

Thanks for the replies, I am feeling less worried knowing that it is a normal heart rate :)

[sallyrae17]

173 at 12 weeks 1 day with this pregnancy. With my son, it was 150 at 11 weeks.

[Thebyr]

update - heard baby's heartbeat yesterday at my 14 week appt. Heart rate was in the 130s.

[LilyTiger]

Ours was 170 at 9 weeks and I don't know what it was the other day at 14 weeks, but it sounded pretty fast.  I'm used to my really slow 50 bpm, so my guess isn't too accurate.  But as everyone else has mentioned, the baby's HR changes a lot.  I've heard anything from 120 - 180 is normal.  It usually starts out higher and then gets slower as it matures.  On a random note, Monday was our first time actually hearing the heart beat (couldn't before due to tilted uterus)... It was amazing!  I couldn't believe there was this little heart way down in my uterus.  Really cool.

[lakeruby]

We heard the HB at 10w3d and it was 150....reading over everyone's responses, now I'm wondering if that seems really low!?

[Knitting Mama]

I wouldn't worry, personally. Just like your own heartbeat, less activity in a fetus means lower heartbeat and more activity means higher. So, my guess would be a more relaxed state for your babe. If you're really worried you could ask to come in and get it checked again, or see if you can buy or borrow a Doppler.

[sallyrae17]

Originally Posted by lakeruby 

We heard the HB at 10w3d and it was 150....reading over everyone's responses, now I'm wondering if that seems really low!?

My son was consistently in the 150s. This babe's heartbeat seemed too fast to me! :-) There's such a big range that I wouldn't worry.

[Sol_y_Paz]

15 weeks and in the 150's 

[mcampa]

At 13.1 weeks baby was 147 bpm which does seem kind of low but my HR is always really low (I have to really be working to get it over 120) so maybe its genetic. 

[Thebyr]

Any heart rate over 120 is normal for a baby. They tend to be higher the first 10-12 weeks and gradually slow down. Some babies are relatively low the entire time. It's completely normal for a 13-15 week baby to be in the 130s-140s - and also the 150s-180s. Just depends on your baby, your activity level at the time it's checked and the baby's activity level at the time it's checked. Doctors don't really worry unless the heart rate is lower than 120.