Hearing Your Baby's Heart Beat

We all long for the moment when we first hear our baby's heart beat. It is undoubtedly the best moment for most women in pregnancy. You can almost hear that collective sigh of relief. The miscarriage rates drop and we begin to accept our pregnancies more easily, feeling more assured of our baby's health. But did you know that there are many ways to hear your baby's heart beat in pregnancy? And these ways vary from practitioner to practitioner as well as from how you would listen to your baby in labor.

This discussion also brings up the question of whether or not the fetal heart rate can help you determine if you're having a girl or a boy. According to old wives tales, a heart rate over 140 is a girl and under 140 is a boy. This is something that other moms have been discussing on the pregnancy forums. Join them.

Related:

• Feeling Your Baby Move
• Fetal Kick Counts
• How Your Baby Grows