OB/GYN Interview 1

"When speaking with pregnant women, we often do refer to the 'heartbeat' early in pregnancy, because that is familiar language to our patients. However, what we see with existing ultrasound technology at six weeks is not actually a heart, yet. It is a rudimentary structure in an early phase of development. Using the 'heartbeat' terminology in an effort to restrict abortion is done in order to drive an emotional response in people, but it is not medically accurate.

If I have a patient in front of me who is excited about her pregnancy, and hoping for signs that it’s currently developing properly, that little flicker can tell us that, at that point in the pregnancy, things look good.

'Heartbeat' conjures an organ which expands and contracts, but a six-week embryo has yet to develop that structure. The characteristic ‘lub-dub’ of the heart is created by the valves in a four-chambered heart opening and closing."
- Dr. Sarah Horvath, a Darney/Landy Fellow at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists