At what week can a fetal heartbeat be detected with a doptone?

At what week can a fetal heartbeat be detected with a doptone?

• A. 5 weeks
• B. 8 weeks
• C. 12 weeks
• D. 20 weeks

Answer: (B)

A fetal heartbeat can typically be detected using a Doppler device, commonly referred to as a doptone, around the eighth week of pregnancy. This is when the development of the fetal heart has progressed sufficiently for the heartbeat to be strong enough to be detected. Before the eighth week, the fetal heart is still in very early development, and the sounds may not be audible even with advanced equipment. As the pregnancy progresses, the heart grows stronger, making it easier to detect by the end of the first trimester, around twelve weeks. Detecting a heartbeat at twenty weeks is certainly possible, but by this time, it is expected that it would have been detectable much earlier. Thus, the timing of eight weeks marks the onset of the ability to use a Doppler to hear the fetal heartbeat, establishing it as the correct answer.

A fetal heartbeat can typically be detected using a Doppler device, commonly referred to as a doptone, around the eighth week of pregnancy. This is when the development of the fetal heart has progressed sufficiently for the heartbeat to be strong enough to be detected.

Before the eighth week, the fetal heart is still in very early development, and the sounds may not be audible even with advanced equipment. As the pregnancy progresses, the heart grows stronger, making it easier to detect by the end of the first trimester, around twelve weeks. Detecting a heartbeat at twenty weeks is certainly possible, but by this time, it is expected that it would have been detectable much earlier.

Thus, the timing of eight weeks marks the onset of the ability to use a Doppler to hear the fetal heartbeat, establishing it as the correct answer.