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Question
Hello doctor, how many weeks old does the fetus have a fetal heart? My wife went to have an ultrasound, the doctor said she was 8 weeks pregnant but there was no fetal heartbeat and said the pregnancy was saved?
Tran Van Loi (Nha Trang)
Hello doctor. Can you see the fetal heart at 5 weeks, doctor? Looking forward to consulting your doctor. Thank you.
Nguyen Vuong Son (1987)
Reply
Hello! According to the process of embryo-fetal development, the heart begins to form quite clearly and beat about 22 days after conception. Fetal heartbeat will usually appear between 6-7 weeks of pregnancy. At this time, with modern ultrasound technology, we can hear the fetal heartbeat. However, in many cases, it takes about 8 to 10 weeks of pregnancy to hear the fetal heartbeat, this depends on the menstrual cycle as well as the development of the embryo or due to incorrect gestational age calculation.
Early stillbirth is called fetal growth arrest. According to the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, one of the diagnostic signs of fetal growth arrest is when on ultrasound the head and buttocks length of the embryo is 7mm without fetal heart activity and ultrasound at least 2 times apart. 7 days apart. Or, at 6 weeks of ultrasound, there is a fetal heart, but by 8 weeks of checking, there is no fetal heart anymore, concluding that the fetus has stopped growing (stillbirth). Therefore, to conclude that your wife has a stillbirth or not, you should take your wife to an obstetrics and gynecology clinic for a full examination and conclusion!
CKI Doctor Pham Thi Yen - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital
