Just bought a Doppler which I swore I would never do!

[Fishcake77]

Hi, I am 17 weeks 5 days and starting to get fed up with people asking me if I have felt the baby move yet.....no I haven't! So, because of this, slight paranoia has crept in and I have done the one thing I said I wouldn't and bought a Doppler which is being delivered tomorrow. Has anyone else got one and do they make you feel better/give you relief everything is ok, or do they make you more paranoid?? Just interested in hearing some opinions. I do think I worry more as I am 37, been trying to conceive for 7 years with 2 mmc and just as I started to feel quite relaxed about it all I become worried again!

There is a long thread here with some opinions from MW's. Generally, they don't like them.

Sorry to hear about your MC's.

My sil is a gp and borrowed one from work to listen to her baby.
She found the baby's heart beat slowing and went to have a scan where they confirmed it. Baby was born later that day. She was 35 weeks and knew what she was doing though.
But it saved her baby's life as the placenta was failing.

If you are worried go and see your mw but use it as a fun thing, not a diagnostic tool. It's hard to pick up what's your heart beat and what's your baby's sometimes and the Doppler prob only useful later on.

My sil told me to get one btw, but I could hardly get it to work which was not reassuring but didn't bother me as I could feel baby move.

Yes! I got one at 16 weeks (almost 19 now) for the exact reasons you've mentioned.

Found the heartbeat for a few seconds first time I used it, then it took approximately 10 min to find it again. I use it twice a week and I'm finding the heartbeat in a few seconds every time now, it's very relaxing knowing the little one is doing fine despite no movement yet :)

I would probably go insane if I couldn't find the heartbeat now, but at the same time I can't stop using it.

I told my midwife, and she said they didn't recommend women to use a doppler themselves but she understood why I wanted too (have also had two miscarriages) and even if she didn't; not my problem! You do what you feel is best for yourself and your baby :)

I'm sure the thread you linked to mentions this, but my midwife told me (while listening to my babies heartbeat at my appointment!) that a healthy heartbeat is not a clear indicator of a healthy baby - once you get movement, that is a better sign.

Don't ever ever ignore reduced movements just because you can hear a heartbeat. Home monitors are a toy, not a diagnostic tool!

Yes, that thread talks about that I think. Basically heart beat is one of the last things to show up an issue. So watching movement means a lot more. Also, it is more than just 'finding a heartbeat'. MW's are looking for very specific information when they listen in and we don't necessarily have the skills to interpret what we hear (there was a thread on this exact topic recently too).

There have also been tragic cases where women have been falsely reassured by hearing a heartbeat and not gone in to be checked out when maybe they would have if based on movement or instinct alone.

I also know someone who became almost addicted to the doppler. The period for which she was 'reassured' got shorter and shorter and she started using it more and more and more often. Effectively building and compounding her own anxiety levels .

I agree with what others have said - cheap ones used at home by untrained people are for fun, not for using to make any decisions whatsoever.

No doppler opinions, but wanted to offer reassurance about not feeling movements at 17.5 weeks! I didn't feel any of those early bubbling, butterfly wings, fishtails(!), for me it was straight to gentle kicks and prods. The first time I knew for certain that it wasn't wind was the day of my 20 week scan. Even the midwife at my 16 week appt asked me about movements, which I was a bit surprised by really. Good luck and chances are very much in your favour that all is well.

dats 27+0

No movement here either (18+3) :(

No harm in using a doppler until you feel movement, in my opinion. After that, I don't think there's much point.

That is utterly normal Angelina. Post 18 weeks is still early. 20 weeks still well within normal.

I found having a doppler a great reassurance in the weeks between the 12 week scan and feeling regular movement (I have a similar background to you, OP, 14 years TTC, lots of treatment, 4 losses).
Personally, I never had any problems finding a heartbeat (I think a lot depends on your build, position of the placenta etc) or distinguishing the fetal heartbeat from my own or the sound of the placenta. Obviously, the heartbeat alone isn't an indication of fetal health but I was so anxious just to know that the little blighter was still alive that just finding the HB was sufficient for me.
I don't think I've used it since around 20 weeks which is when I began feeling movement every day but before then it did keep me sane.

I've always used a doppler from around 8 weeks (when I can first find it - yes, I know that sounds early, but it IS the heartbeat - this is DC4 - I know what I'm doing) until I first feel movement. Then movement is my reassurance because movement is, as has been said, a far more useful tool as it is the first sign of an issue.

Interesting story with DC3. I was using the doppler at 19 weeks as movement was still very infrequent at that point. The heartbeat was not its usual thumping away, instead there were loads of skipped beats (think 2-3 beats in every 5 missing at random, it was INSANE) and it sounded like there was no way a baby would make it sounding like that. I had already screened positive of 1 in 34 for Down Syndrome and was waiting it out as there was no Harmony back then, and had not yet had an anatomy scan so I assumed it was a heart condition.

Rang the Fetal Medicine Centre (one of the top fetal medicine research places in the world if you didn't already know) and somehow managed to get an appointment with the professor himself the next day and had my anatomy scan there instead of on the NHS.

Weirdly by the morning of the scan the heartbeat had gone back to normal! I still asked the professor about it of course, and he told me that this is what hearts sometimes do at this stage. I was all "Are you really really sure?!!" and he said yes - they're still very immature and the electrical signals often get in a bit of state. Even to the state I described which was frankly as low as 50-60 irregular-bpm at times. He said they don't usually worry about slow or irregular heart rates (within reason) but if they're crazy high they're actually more worried. He basically brushed off my worries in the way he does which makes you feel much much better and the anatomy scan was indeed perfect. He does not have T21 either.

DS is nearly three now and believe me there is nothing wrong with him! But hearing that heartbeat I was certain he should have been a goner.

So now I very much take dopplers with a pinch of salt. They are great for telling you that baby is still alive before you feel regular movement, but can be truly misleading (giving false anxiety and masking real issues) after that point. So now I just don't use it after I feel regular movement, I can't go through that scare again!!

I Bought one a week ago (now 15 wks with DC2). It never occurred to me to get one with DC1 but since then have had a long struggle TTC and a m/c so am undoubtedly more anxious. Also at my nuchal scan at 13 wks I asked and was told the placenta is anterior, which will probably delay feeling movement. Having felt it from 16 wks last time I couldn't cope with the prospect of not having any more info on how the baby is til the 20 wk scan.

I have been using it every other day so far, and have always found the heartbeat although not always instantly. No problem differentiating my heartbeat from the baby's and I can hear when it it moving too. So for me it is reassuring, and will hopefully only be needed for a few weeks until I am feeling movement.

I got one because anterior placenta meant I didn't feel any movement until late on. I just got a really cheap one from amazon and found it very easy to use. Lost interest as soon as I could feel the baby moving myself!

Just to say I got my Doppler yesterday, my DH put it on my tummy and straight away we got a HB of 150bpm which was exactly the same as the midwife got at 16 weeks (I'm 18 + 3 now). It was lovely to hear the heartbeat again, but I certainly wouldn't use it for any diagnostic purposes and if I feel anything is wrong I will still call the midwife straight away. I know I can hear the baby's heartbeat now but for some reason that is enough for me listening to it the once with the Doppler and I am looking forward to my 20 week scan now. Thank you for all of your comments.

Dopplers affect the baby (baby usually jumps around when being checked indicating the Doppler has some impact/reaction). Drs don't know how much or if its negative. Asked a dr about this and was told that it shouldn't be used more than is necessary to ensure safety of child, ie. every 4-6 weeks by midwife and anytime there is a question about babies lack of movement. Otherwise it's unnecessary, can cause worry for the mum and could potentially be found out to be bad for babies when frequently used in future. Just another perspective.