At How Many Weeks Can You Detect Heartbeat In A Foetus?

Though there is no hard and fast rule as such about how many weeks it takes for the heartbeat in the foetus to be detected, it is usually done at the end of the first trimester of a woman's pregnancy. A Doppler is a highly sensitive instrument which is used to detect the foetal heartbeat. It can pick up the heartbeat of a foetus by the tenth or twelfth week of the pregnancy. That is to say that when a woman is about two-and-a-half to three months into her pregnancy, the Doppler can easily pick up the faintest signs of the foetal heartbeat.

An ordinary stethoscope, on the other hand, can only pick it up during the fifth month of pregnancy. That is, by the time the ordinary stethoscope detects the foetal heartbeat, the woman is already into her 17th or 18th week of pregnancy. Other factors that affect the delay in detecting the foetal heartbeat are the excess fat which has been accumulated on the woman's body during her pregnancy and the possibility of a miscalculated due date. It is important to be patient, and if necessary, consult a doctor about getting an ultrasound scan done, which can pick up the foetal heartbeat as effectively as the Doppler.      

Went for a vaginal scan today and nurse said she could not find heart beat and wants me to have another scan on the 22nd may  does that mean it has miscarried or could still be alive .im 5 weeks pregnant they said and my last period was the 5th april

6 weeks