Just for info really, I have a proper fetal doppler (like the midwives use - have no idea why I still have it really, not like I'm having any more babies) but anyway, it's worth spending a bit more and getting a proper one. While the ones you can plug into your computer are a good gimmick the sound quality is appalling. Also you can't use them till later in your pregnancy.

Mine I used from week 16 successfully and reliably for both babies. It cost umm £70 I think when I bought it. Should probably ebay it at some point <lazy sod emoticon goes here>

I did find it helpful (have had two miscarriages and just being able to say 'look she's okay I can hear her' really helped me).

I have just bought myself one of these, and have been able to find my baby's heartbeat every time, I can tell the heartbeat from my own, it sounds like galloping horses.

In case anyone is still interested I have the AngelSounds pink doppler, got it off Amazon for about £17 (with the gel stuff and P+P it was about £23) and have found it to be great. You can listen to your own heart first so you know you're not confusing the two; the baby's heartbeat is about twice as fast. It worked for me at about 14 weeks onward, although since the baby started moving around I haven't felt the need to use it much.

I am not sure why I even noticed!

Pinkjenny, you are so much more observant than me! How annoying is that. (not you being more observant, the old post thing...)

Hi there - I just read this this morning which might be of interest:

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/beware-of-foetal-heart-monitors-par ents-warned-1815742.html

I did'nt even notice ... oh well maybe it will be helpful to someone.

This thread is over a year old

That's a better way of putting what I said Fly so much shorter

I was the midwife yesterday and she was saying that, in her opinion, they were were the work of the devil (ok, I'm paraphrasing here) causing utterly uneccessary anxiety. As well as false reassurance to people listening to their own pulse.

It must be said though, that when you don't have a midwife appointment between 16 weeks and 28 weeks as seems to be the case now, people do want reassurance.