Baby's heartbeat

[BubbleKitten]

I know I like to panic and this might sound a little silly but it has me worried.

When I was being monitored last night the midwife thought that the baby was breech because she found the heartbeat so high up, Yet my baby was head down bum up. Why did she find the heartbeat so high up if bubs was heads down??

I keep saying to DH I didnt understand unless she was a big bubs and had a really strong heartbeat!!

I am 31+3 but measuring a little over 2 weeks ahead!

[Calluna]

Is it possible that bub was sitting up higher than she thought, so more up towards your ribcage

otherwise it may just be that she was listening to the cords pulse rather than the baby's I've had a couple of midwives that haven't known the difference. Did she look further down or stop looking when she found the heartbeat higher up?

Dont worry too much hun, as long as bub is still wriggling around in there it's more than likely fine
If your worried go back to the doctors and demand another listen to put your mind at ease.

I hope that makes sense I'm not too good at making sense lately.

[LimeSlice]

I would have said the same thing.

The cord beat and the HB sound very similar, and often they have trouble locating a HB.
Just because bubs is head down though, doesn't mean he is low down... You are ways off yet and he many not be engaged at all, and be sitting higher up than you realise they can be.

[BubbleKitten]

We had monitoring and a scan last night cos they thought I was having contractions. She was definatly head down! The obs came in and confimred that with the scan. I would be a little concerned if the MW did not know the different between a HB and cord beating cos she was VERY experienced! She first found the HB down low and gave the the thumbs up but then decided to havea feel around and thought that the head was the bum and that bubs was in breech she then put monitor up higher and left it there....even though the bum that she thought was actually the head!!

I am not concerned about bubs cos the monitoring came out fine just very curious why she was head down but hb so high up! You might be right Limeslice, she might be sitting head dwon but not as low as I think...

[Calluna]

Lol sorry, that's what I meant, head down but up high.

[Alan]

Your midwife should be able to tell the difference between the heartbeat and the cord. The heartbeat sounds like a horse galloping and the cord is more of a wosh wosh sound. In theory the best place to find the babies heartbeat is near the anterior shoulder however it is possable to hear it in other places. If your baby was hiding behind your placenta it may have been easier to hear the heartbeat higher than you expect. One little trick you could try to decide if that little round lump is a head or a bum is:-
Hold the bump between your thumb and finger. Put your other hand on your baby’s body. Now move the bump back and forth. If it is a head the body will not move if it is a bum the body will move

[BubbleKitten]

Thanks Alan, I have an anterior placenta so bubs is usually hiding behind that! I am not sure if I am game enough to try your trick! I dont know what I am meant to feel for!!

[Alan]

Havw a look at the spinning babies website. They have something called belly mapping. That may help you work out where your baby is

[deletedit]

If I poke the bump that is a bum, the bumps that are feet kick the bejeezus out of me, its pretty easy to tell which end is which.

Head bump is much harder and like Alan said, not attached to so much.

I spend a lot of my time getting my tummy seriously manhandled by a toddler and a cat.