Can't find baby's heartbeat at 14 weeks :(

[Chloeisobelle21]

I bought an angelcare Doppler and I've used it twice. It doesn't have a screen with BPM on it so I thought I hearing baby's heartbeat till I realised it was in time with my pulse and didn't seem fast enough. I've used it low to my pubic bone pushed in near my pelvis and thought I could hear it again as it sounded like a train chugging but it doesn't seem fast enough. I'm trying not to obsess and I regret buying it now. But my next appointment isn't until 2 weeks time and id be lying if I said I wasn't a little worried

I got given one to review for a website as it had so many bad reviews.

They are horrible machines - I had the summer infant one. Even directly over my own heart it didn't pick anything up, even at full volume just loads of static.

The MW mentioned a lady that she had in that put the Doppler on and thought all was okay (late pregnancy) when actually her baby was in distress and needed help. The heartbeat she was hearing was her own, not the baby's.

I know why people like home dopplers, I had one myself, but they're just a fun gimmick and for very good reasons. They can cause a lot of worry. They tell you nothing actually. If you can't pick up a heartbeat, it doesn't mean it's because there isn't one, it means that picking up a heartbeat, particularly this early on is really hard for a trained professional sometimes, never mind a worried pregnant mother. Plus, the presence of a heartbeat is false reassurance in a very tiny minority of cases. A baby can be in a lot of distress and you wouldn't know it from a listen in with a doppler.

You're doing the right thing to put it away. Later on in your pregnancy (around 26 or 27 weeks), learn to listen to your baby's movements and note any changes in them.

Don't put yourself through this stress.

I'm still worrying about this even now. I haven't felt baby move and if I have I cant be certain it was that. Im just worried. Also not showing much either and thought I would be at this stage. Starting to feel quite anxious. I'm almost 16 weeks