Talk to me about heart rate... Please!

[forgetmenots]

OK, Im going to see the MW next week but want to talk about this in the mean time (even if it is silly). I'm 21+6, and I listened to LO's hb with a Doppler (loaned by a friend). The heartbeat, which I can only pick up in one position due to anterior placenta, sounds really slow (counting it, I'd say 100 bpm). Have now listened three times today in case baby was asleep, it's never gone above that.

I've had my anomaly scan, where the sonographer was great and took great care at looking at all four chambers of the heart and seemed delighted. The MW heard the hb at 16 week appointment too. Surely if my LO had a bad heart or slow heart it would have been picked up? AmA I being stupid to be worried by a device that I am probably operating wrongly? Could I be picking up my furiously racing and worried hb? (Thanks in advance...)

You are probably listening to your heartbeat or the placenta, try angling in towards your belly button, but not too close to it so you aren't listening to the placenta. I found some good sound files on line to listen to.

I would say that listening isn't a good thing to do as it won't reassure you if you can't find it or doesn't sound right. I used mine after a bleed at 16 weeks and then put it away, I found I just got very tense trying to use it.

If MW and scan were good and you have no reason to worry then don't!

Thanks sundae. You are probably right about the placenta - this is why I hadn't bought one, knew it would just cause flipping worry. It sounds like a whooshing noise, may be the blood going through the cord from me even.
Thanks

I'd be a nightmare with one of those! The placenta usually makes a whooshing noise so I'd say it's that you picked up and not baby's hb :)

I had a doppler given to me so my curiosity got the better of me and I gave it a go. Finding the baby's heartbeat is really hard and takes quite a bit of practice. I listened to some examples on YouTube to make sure I was listening to the right thing rather than marvelling at the sound of my lunch digesting. Most foetal heartbeats sound like a galloping horse or a train on the tracks, so you're looking for a repetitive sequence of definite beats. If you have heard whooshing it sounds like it might be the placenta or even some other blood vessel so I wouldn't worry too much if your care professionals think everything is fine.

Thanks all :) I feel so much better now, and hopefully I can get my MW to have another listen next week and confirm just for peace of mind!