A home Doppler or not!?

[Leanne17]

Hi guys!!

So I have an angel sounds Doppler from when I was pregnant with my second son,

Found his heartbeat about 9-10 weeks using it .

This time around I've not been able to find one so worry but I know at this stage they can be hard to hear.

What's your thoughts in them? Is it an unnecessary worry?!

Xx

Fuck no. Put it down and step away from it. Then set it on fire.
These are notoriously unreliable and dangerous.
Firstly, it's hard to find a heartbeat.
Secondly it's very easy to mistake your own heartbeat for that of the babies.
Thirdly, just because you do find the right heartbeat it doesn't mean everything is OK, the baby could still be in distress.
Fourthly, it you wait until you can't find a heartbeat to seek help you will be too late.
Look at the Kicks Count page for more details but in short ;
Learn the pattern of your babies movements and monitor them.

• If you notice any change, call your midwife.
• If you're worried, call your midwife.
• For anything at all you're worried about, call your midwife.

Home dopplers can give undue worry and can equally give undue reassurance. They are fucking dangerous. Don't use them
L.

Absolutely think it's causing unnecessary worry! Even many midwives are hesitant to listen in at 16 weeks as it's still difficult to find a heart beat in some cases. We're talking trained professionals with proper equipment here - I think maybe you were just very lucky to pick up a heart beat at 9 weeks before, not getting one second time around isn't neccesarily any indication of a problem.

I totally understand why you'd want one - hearing that heartbeat is always good

Personally though it sounds like an unnecessary worry - my midwife struggled to Doppler at 16 weeks because of an anterior placenta so they don't seem to be easy to use in every situation. That being the case I wouldn't want one because it's just another thing to worry about and pregnancy is stressful enough!

Chuck it. Smallbee put it very succinctly, particularly the bit about false reassurances.

Congratulations on your pregnancy.

I had one for both my pregnancys, I was so paranoid though, after having miscarriages. Looking back now, I wish I hadn't, I became a bit obsessive over it. Would worry if I couldn't hear the heartbeat properly. Just an unnecessary worry.

Yeah I'm not overly worried, just read a lot of things surrounding dopplers...

I read there trying to stop people buying them due to the stress and worry.

I've only used mine twice and purely because this pregnancy has been a rollercoaster and because I lost one in January. It's not something I'm obsessing over x

I don't see the harm in using a Doppler if you don't use it as a reliable Medical device iycwim I have one that was given to me by a friend, it's nice hearing the heartbeat but the few times I couldn't find it I didn't panic just thought oh well maybe next time. It depends if you can just see it as a bit of fun or if it's going to cause you anxiety

I've used one a few times in this pregnancy as my son loves listening to his sister but I don't rely on it

Dopplers use ultrasound. There really is not enough research on the safety of using these things very frequently in pregnancy. I think stick to the standard monitoring provided by you health care provider

My midwife told me not to even consider buying one- at my GP surgery they won't even use them and go by movements instead. As others have pointed out it can be hard to get it right without professional training and you might even pick up your own heartbeat and mistake it for bubba's. (My midwife said this has cause problems in the past where mums have thought they heard the baby's heartbeat so didn't go to hospital when actually they just picked up their own/misinterpreted what they heard). Definitely don't use it is my advice, it'll just cause more anxiety for you x