Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Sarah,
    
    I don't have the same thing but do have a heart murmur. For what it is
    worth, your body is pumping so much more blood while you are pregnant
    that heart conditions become more prominent. Usually a doctor has
    to listen real hard and long to find my murmur but while pregnant, if
    they don't catch it I worry because I know they weren't really
    listening. 
    
    If your doctor says don't worry, then don't. If you still aren't real
    secure with that answer, ask to see a heart specialist. I'm sure a 
    specialist would keep you in the office until he heard for
    himself/herself. If it is scary for you (100 times a day has got to be
    frightening) then do see a specialist. You want to have peace of mind
    for the last few months. 
    
    Let us know how it turns out.
    
    Andrea
                            

    Sarah, my friend had what you had and she said at times it felt like
    she could feel the blood gourging through her heart.  She said it
    terrified her at first, but then her doctor reassured her that it was
    just as the previous noter said.  She was pumping extra blood through
    her heart and depending on the person and your size, etc., it's fairly
    common to feel that.  The heart beat itself was common as well.
    
    I myself have only felt that once, and I don't know how to describe it
    but all of a sudden it felt as if my heart stopped, skipped, then
    pumped hard then back.  I just remembered it because it did alarm me.
    
    Like the previous noter said, I would ask your obstetrician again to
    explain this to you, and if in fact that it's normal. I know that when
    I STILL don't feel "at ease" or forget what the doctor told me that I
    call again or tell him I don't feel like I was "adequately" supplied
    with enough information to make me feel better about this.   Remember,
    the anxiety you cause yourself from worry is usually more than 
    whatever it is that is bothering you.
    
    Pregnancy is wonderful, but I've found at times it's very stressful.
    
    Rebecca
    

    I've had this happen all my life -- from such a young age that I
    guess I never paid any attention to it.  The doctor noticed it
    during my first pregnancy, when I had one of those blip-surge
    things during a checkup.
    
    Yes, it was much worse during pregnancy, I assume because of the
    blood volume.
    
    --bonnie

    
    I have had the same problem but not so frequent. Every once in a while
    when I'm totally relaxed, I feel a pounding and then like a double
    beat! It is a little scary but very common. I also have a heart murmer,
    a mild one. It sounds like aa little squeak when the heart beats.
    nothing serious though. My OB says it should have no affect on my labor
    or delivery. 
    
    
    Sandy
    

    Sarah,
    
    	I also have the same irregular heart beat.  It has occurred off and
    on for years, but I never had a doctor hear it until a regular
    pre-natal checkup during my second pregnancy. Even then, it was the nurse
    who noticed it while taking my pulse before the doctor came in to check 
    me out.  He then heard it also.  Because I was to have a scheduled 
    c-section, with all the possible problems of surgery and anesthesia
    (spinal), he made sure it wasn't something more serious by having me
    go downstairs and have a EKG done by a technician.  Of course, it
    took four 'runs' of the EKG before my heart beat showed anything
    irregular.  The technician showed it to the 'heart specialist' doctor
    who then got in touch with my OB.  All this took about 2 hours from the
    time the nurse first noticed it.
    
    According to the heart specialist, it is indeed a very common problem
    that does not necessarily have complications associated with it.  The
    way I understand it, the heart, for some unknown reason, skips a beat.
    The next beat is stronger or 'louder' to make up for the missed beat.
    Like the heart stops for a second, then is jump-started again.
    
    In the end, my heart beat was monitored closely during the c-section
    and no problems arose.  If you are still uneasy, please ask your
    doctor to check it out further.  An EKG takes little time and the
    results should give you piece of mind.  Or talk to a specialist for
    the same piece of mind.
    
    Hope this helped allay some of your fears and worries.
    
    Donna 

    
    Thanks for your replies, and it certainly is reassuring
    to find that other people have had this problem.
    
    I did see my Doctor again yesterday and mentioned it again
    and he still assures me I need not worry and that if I do
    worry I am likely to make it worse - so I'm trying really
    hard not to!!
    
    Thanks again
    Sarah