dopplers - stressful?! reassurance needed

[Chemistria]

reassurance or telling off probably.

my OH is 9w 2d pregnant through IVF.

I'm also preg with our 2nd baby and I found my son's HB on the doppler at 10weeks, and my 2nd baby's HB on the doppler at 9w 2 days, and even though it was tricky to find and took ages, I've always been able to find it (although since i've felt her moving i don't use it anymore and I know that a HB doesn't necessarily mean everything is OK which is why i monitor her movement pattern daily now I'm 24w)

anyway as OH isn't due a scan until next Saturday, we decided 2 days ago to use the doppler on her (baring in mind she was 9w 0d exactly) after about 15 minutes we were quite shocked to hear a quiet but unmistakeable baby heartbeat. only for about a minute and then he/she moved and lost it again.

tried yesterday 3 times and heard absolutely nothing, also this morning.

I feel awful now as even though it was her idea to listen, it's me that does the doppler-ing as I've done it so often with my 2 and never failed to find HB even if it took half an hour.

has anyone else not been able to find it for more than a day early on after previously hearing it?

I've always been one to say dopplers are a great idea but now i can see why they can be stressful if you try too early. just hope baby is ok, constantly panicking about one thing or another!!

It's hard to find baby's heartbeat with the Doppler that early on.

My midwife wouldn't even try finding baby's heartbeat with a Doppler before the 24 week appointment because it can be so tricky and cause unnecessary worry if they can't find baby because the baby's still tiny, and midwives are trained in how to use a Doppler and use them a lot more than the general public.

So chances are that baby is hard to find because still tiny. But if you need reassurance you'd be better booking an early scan privately than mucking about with the Doppler.

thanks for your reply.

we have a private scan booked for Saturday anyway , and i know it's hard to find it, it's just i've never not been able to before (but that's been on myself) and wondering how I found it 2 days ago and not now, I'm just hoping it's again because it's so small it can hide easily. fingers crossed.

As PP said it can be incredibly hard to find a HB, with some MWs not checking at 16 weeks for that very reason.

That said I have had a Doppler for all 3 pregnancies from 12 weeks until regular movement was established and I found them really reassuring (2 IVF pregnancies and one natural one). A MW showed me how to use it and differentiate between baby/me/placenta. I know the general consensus on here is avoid like the plague so you don't end up worrying like you are but I am a fan.

Was meant to add, I always found HBs very low, pretty much pubic bone level. Even at my 28 week appt, the MW struggled and I suggested looking lower (she was tummy button height) and bingo.

thanks Vallinnnapod.

I'm going after work to buy some water based gel as I've been using coconut oil as a gel, maybe not the best and my partner's so noisy inside like awful crackling noise and static and all these other noises, i can hear her own HB easily and the swooshing noise just not the baby.

i also have found them reassuring in the past.

i know it's a silly question but where exactly is the pubic bone, is it where your hip bones are but across, kind of like where the hair starts?

i've always found mine pretty low too but it's easier to do it on myself than someone else and i'm also not sure if i'm pressing too hard etc.

Bin the Doppler. You're not a medical professional.

Professional advice is that they should not be used.

hi Pottering. like i said, I'm 24 weeks and i would never ever rely on the doppler myself - i have a Kicks Count wrist band and am meticulous in monitoring movement, as i was in my last pregnancy.

For me personally I found the doppler reassuring between 10w and when i felt movement, and also had a few private scans.

I was wondering if anyone else who has used one early has then not found the HB after intially hearing it, as we definitrly heard it on my partner 2 days ago. she's had alot of bleeding since the IVF and inbetween scans we thought it would help just hearing it fleetingly. I'm more worried that I can't find it now after hearing it 2 days ago.

Like I said, I would never use it once movement has been established for the exact reasons on the link you put.

But you worry because you can't find it when it might be fine and you might be falsely reassured when you think you've found it but you can't. The extra stress and anxiety it creates isn't going to be good for any of you.

I agree with binning the Doppler

All it will do and has done already, is encourage anxiety and panic

Even midwifes struggle to find it and they know what they are doing

They should never have been sold to the public

I wouldn't use one. My guess is that it would cause me more worry than reassurance.

I used one with my son, got it when I was 12 weeks and found his HB every time, I used it for reassurance after having 2 MMC, until I started feeling regular movements at which point I didn't feel I needed it.

With this pregnancy I found the HB very early, around 9 weeks, found it very easily the first time but the couldn't find it again for about 2 weeks, tried a number of times but no luck. Baby was fine - just too small and a very active baby! I'm 18 weeks now and have been using it once a week since my 12 week scan and find it quickly now. Have been feeling movement though so will put the Doppler away soon.

Don't panic, it's VERY common not to be able to find it at this early stage - even if you've found it before.

I agree entirely with Soubriquet

Thanks for all replies, I do appreciate it. We are at the point now of being worried and yes maybe we shouldn't have tried it so early, but we did and now not finding it has made us more worried than if we hadn't heard it in the first place.

thanks to previous poster for the reassurance that you couldn't find it for 2 weeks after, I hope that's what's happened in this case.

I know a lot of people don't agree with them but for me personally it always helped whenever I heard both my babas early on.

I was just hoping to hear similar stories because we've already gone past the point of using it and getting worried.

update

after over an hour of searching yesterday, and another 20 mins this morning, finally heard the HB as far away as it could wriggle by the sounds of it. OH was panicking loads as her symptoms were decreasing but i think that may have been psychological tbh.

but we've learned our lesson and wont be using it again, until maybe after 14w and until she feels movement. realised just how easy it is for a tiny tiny baby to hide in there.

No, not even at 14 weeks. Bin it, honestly. Was it worth any of this? It's not reassuring in the slightest.

If you're worried, go to hospital and get a medical professional to check.

Yes bin it

Once you get movement, you go off that and not the heartbeat anyway

Not worth the hassle to struggle and find the heartbeat everytime