In fact, "fetus" isn't technically accurate at six weeks of gestation either, says Kerns, since "embryo" is the scientific term for that stage of development. National What The Texas Abortion Ban Does - And What It Means For Other States Kerns adds that health care providers might use the term "fetal heartbeat" in conversations with patients during this early stage of pregnancy, but it's not actually a clinical term. ![]() "In no way is this detecting a functional cardiovascular system or a functional heart." "What we're really detecting is a grouping of cells that are initiating some electrical activity," she explains. Jennifer Kerns, an OB-GYN and associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco. That's why "the term 'fetal heartbeat' is pretty misleading," says Dr. "The flickering that we're seeing on the ultrasound that early in the development of the pregnancy is actually electrical activity, and the sound that you 'hear' is actually manufactured by the ultrasound machine." "At six weeks of gestation, those valves don't exist," she explains. The sound generated by an ultrasound in very early pregnancy is quite different, she says. ![]() Nisha Verma, an OB-GYN who specializes in abortion care and works at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. "When I use a stethoscope to listen to an patient's heart, the sound that I'm hearing is caused by the opening and closing of the cardiac valves," says Dr. Jennifer Kerns, OB-GYN, University of California, San Francisco In no way is this detecting a functional cardiovascular system or a functional heart. What we're really detecting is a grouping of cells that are initiating some electrical activity. The law defines "fetal heartbeat" as "cardiac activity or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart within the gestational sac" and claims that a pregnant woman could use that signal to determine "the likelihood of her unborn child surviving to full-term birth." The Texas abortion law that went into effect last fall reads: "A physician may not knowingly perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman if the physician detected a fetal heartbeat for the unborn child." Supreme Court intends to ovterturn Roe v. Note: We are republishing this story after the news site Politico published a leaked draft opinion suggesting the U.S. And the sound that you "hear" is actually manufactured by the ultrasound machine. What the ultrasound machine detects in an embryo at six weeks of pregnancy is actually just electrical activity from cells that aren't yet a heart. Casey.The term "fetal heartbeat," as used in the anti-abortion law in Texas, is misleading and not based on science, say physicians who specialize in reproductive health. This decision eliminated the constitutional right to abortion that was established by the 1973 court case and later affirmed by a 1992 case called Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. 11 Surprising Facts About the Circulatory SystemĮditor's note: This article was updated on Augby Live Science contributor Alice Ball following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v."A lot of the heart development is still ongoing" during the first trimester, she said. Indeed, the entire first trimester of pregnancy is a time of "organogenesis," or the formation of organs, Aftab said.Īfter the detection of the flutter at six weeks, the heart muscle continues to develop over the next four to six weeks, undergoing the folding and bending that needs to happen for the heart to take its final shape, Aftab said. The heart still has a lot of development to undergo before it is fully formed. Related: Having a baby: Stages of pregnancy by trimester Previously, the technology wasn't advanced enough to detect the flutter that early on in pregnancy.Īlthough a lot of weight seems to be put on the detection of this flutter, "by no means does it translate to viability of the heart" or viability of the pregnancy, Aftab said. To find practical support accessing abortion: It's been only in the last few decades that doctors have even been able to detect this flutter at six weeks, thanks to the use of more-sophisticated ultrasound technologies, Aftab said. For questions about legal rights and self-managed abortion: -To find an abortion clinic in the US: -Miscarriage & Abortion Hotline operated by doctors who can offer expert medical advice: Available online or at 83
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