Hello all, I have a question that I'm sure one of you can help me with.

First of all let me say that I'm a first-timer and have always naturally been a worrywart. I found out I was pregnant at six weeks and went in for my first OB appt right away. Of course on that Ultrasound there wasn't much to see besides a little speck so I was really excited to come back at 10 weeks to see how much my baby has grown.

My sister-in-law and one of my best friends are also pregnant and both were able to hear their babys' heartbeats at 10 weeks on Doppler. However, my doctor was unable to find my baby's heartbeat at my second appt, which really disappointed me. We brought out the ultrasound machine and saw the heart beating and the machine estimated the heartrate to be 179 bpm. How common/uncommon is it to hear the heartbeat at 10 weeks?

My second question is how much can ultrasound picture quality vary? Both the other women I know who had ultrasounds at 10 weeks had very clear pictures with slight facial features obvious, arms, legs, and umbilical cords. However, mine looks like a blurry bean with a forehead. Does this mean something is wrong or does my clinic just have a poorer-quality ultrasound?

Sorry I wrote so much, I look forward to hearing from someone.

I wouldnt worry about it. They say 12 weeks in when you can start to hear the heart beat. Also, if you are a little thick in the middle like I am it may be a little harder to hear.

The first time I got to hear the heart beat was around 13 weeks, the baby was down very low in my pelvic area and the doctor had to push the dopler down very hard to find it.

As for the ultra sound, not sure what to tell you about that. Did you get transvaginal or the other kind? I guess you could chalk it up to poor quality.

Congratulations on your little one and good luck!

Well my first appt was at 10 weeks and they didnt even try to listen to the heartbeat my doctor said you wouldnt be able to hear it, but he did do a transvaginal ultrasound and it was very clear, you could see my babys head, where the eyes were, arms legs and body, I didnt get to hear my babys heart beat until I was 15 weeks and Im now 17 weeks....

It's the exception to hear the heartbeat by doppler at 10 weeks, not the rule.
And yes ultrasound quality can differ GREATLY. At the clinic I work at we have 4 good ultrasound machines for the proper/real ultrasounds. The image quality is fantastic. Our nurse practitioners use really crappy old machines to do quickies to measure fluid or get a quick heart beat. So there is fantastic, there is crap, and there is everything in between. Most doctors offices do not have high end machines since they aren't doing high end quality scans where image quality really matters. I could go into this more but I'd bore you. And then there is the person behind the ultrasound. You can have the best machine in the world but if the person scanning doesn't know the tricks to getting those good pics, you won't get them.

A lot of factors determine when you'll be able to hear baby's heartbeat with a doppler. Your build will have a lot to do with it. I was 16 weeks before the doctor even tried to hear my baby's heartbeat with a doppler and it took him a good while to find it. It also depends on what position baby is in and where he/she is sitting (closer to the front or spine) as well as where your placenta is located.

I believe that different machines are of different quality. I've seen a lot of other sonogram pics that are clearer than any of mine. I also think that maybe your build has a lot to do with how clear the picture comes out too.

Good luck and congratulations on your pregnancy!!!

This is very much true. I do my best to give parents cute pictures of their babies while I am doing their exam, however we are very limited by body habitus (a nice way of saying how obese a person is). Pictures will be crisper for the 120 pound woman vs the 200 pound woman. So not only do machines differ in quality and techs differ in ability and techniques, but picture quality also varies by body habitus.

but of course a 120 pound woman can still get a crappy picture based on the other 2 factors.