A tiny, continual blink on the black and white screen showed Candice Frates where her baby's heart was.
"Since it's so small, it kind of looks like a blob to me," said Frates, who is nine weeks pregnant. "I could see the heart beat when they pointed it out - that was cool."
Frates was among nearly 30 volunteer "models," between six and 18 weeks pregnant, who helped Pregnancy Help Center of Central Missouri volunteers complete ultrasound training this week.
"This is an amazing tool," said Frates' mother Donna Bernskoetter. "If you can see the heartbeat at nine weeks, how can you deny life?"