Which piece of equipment is used to assess the fetal heart rate in a client at 14 weeks' gestation?

• A. Stethoscope
• B. Doppler transducer
• C. Pulse oximetry with fetoscope
• D. Fetoscope

Answer: (B)

Detecting the fetal heart rate at 14 weeks relies on a device that can pick up the heartbeat through the maternal abdomen. A Doppler transducer uses ultrasound to detect the Doppler shift from fetal blood flow, producing an audible heartbeat and an exact rate. This method works well this early in pregnancy because it can detect the heartbeat through the tissues and over the uterus with high sensitivity.

A regular stethoscope isn’t ideal this early, since maternal tissues dampen and obscure the faint fetal sounds. A fetoscope is a specialized listening device that is commonly used later in pregnancy when the fetus is larger and easier to hear. Pulse oximetry with a fetoscope isn’t a standard approach for assessing fetal heart rate, as pulse oximetry serves to monitor maternal or fetal oxygenation rather than provide reliable fetal heart rate measurements.