Dopplers

[AvaRose87]

Hello

Anyone had any experience with using a Doppler in pregnancy? Are they worth it? I read today that they can give a false sense of security but it's been on my mind for a while to try one out... has it helped anyone else?

Thanks

My midwife drilled it into me that you should never get one.
You could be worried about the baby, listen in and assume things are fine when actually they may need help.
Apparently they’re trying to ban them from the public.

Just don't do it. They won't give you peace of mind.

Spend the money on something nice for yourself or the baby instead.

Don't. Just don't. Contact your midwife or pregnancy unit if you are ever worried. But don't get a home doppler.

Barely used it for dc2 for the above reasons. Give a false sense of security. I used maternity triage instead if i was worried about baby.

Thanks that's really great advice I'll stay well away.... I only ask because I've been a bit worried the last couple of days, I've been poorly with tonsillitis for nearly a week now, on antibiotics and that was on the back of having a water infection which again I was on antibiotics for and yesterday I started getting a pain in my lower left side and just a bit concerned... I know I can phone the EPU as I've been being seen by them (I was there for a scan last week which was all fine) but I can't help feeling like I'm mithering them xx

Apparently people hear their own heartbeats and then assume baby is okay when they may not be. That’s why I was told people were told not to get them any more. I’ve used them in all three pregnancies and it takes two seconds to check your own heartbeat to make sure it isn’t that. Babies heartbeat is much faster than ours but my midwife said sometimes if the woman is anxious then heartbeats can rise to 120 etc and get confused... but again, takes two seconds to check your own quickly

I wish I had listened to all the people who warned me off dopplers.

But silly old me still went and bought one anyway as I wanted to hear babies heartbeat.

I literally spent the whole weekend trying to get it to work with no success at all. In the end, ended up throwing it against the wall and sitting in a heap crying as thought something had happened to the baby.

Went for a scan the following week and all was fine thank god.

Midwife told me off as soon as I told her I had used one though. Said it can be a struggle for a trained midwife to use let alone a novice like me.
She also did say that often people think they have picked up the babies heartbeat when they hear their own and this can give a false sense of security.

I believe Mothercare along with a lot of other places are no longer selling them after the Midwifes set up a petition.

Epu won't think you're bothering them, the advice is always if you're worried, call. They'd much rather see you and everything be fine than not see you and miss a problem.

I rang epu loads as I was terribly anxious when pregnant. They were fine and always listened, reassured me or asked me to go in.
I found having a 'kicks count' bracelet really helpful for monitoring movement and that was really reassuring.

The reason they should not be used is not just because you can mistake the maternal and fetal heartbeats. Listening to a fetal heart for 60 seconds every day does not tell you a thing about a babies condition/ wellbeing.

That said I wouldn’t ever use it as a reassurance device

Also the first time the midwife put the Doppler on me to check the babies heartbeat she picked up the pulse from the umbilical cord, initially, and showed me the difference in sounds, between that and the baby's heart. It made me realise how easy it would be to pick up the wrong thing and assume everything was ok.

I have one and have used it twice thus far. I think it's nice to hear it and I can record it and play it to others. If you count the beats it's fairly easy to tell mum's apart from baby's- mine is half the rate. I think you just need to apply some common sense and listen to the warnings. For £30, for me at least, it was worth it. I'm fearful of missed miscarriage and was on the brink of forking out for another private scan. Too early to feel kicks and it's nice to have something to prove it's still alive until I can feel it. That said, I've always found the heartbeat quite easily and can see how it might add to worry if you couldn't.

It's not just a question of telling mother's heartbeat apart from baby's. You also have to tell baby's heartbeat apart from the pulse in the umbilical cord. And even if you pick up baby's heartbeat you're not remotely qualified to interpret it and know if baby is ok.

If you have concerns you should go to maternity triage.

Well exactly, but at my stage unless there is bleeding I can't have any concerns and even if I did they couldn't do anything to save it so I see no danger in using it for reassurance at this point. As I said, after fetal movement has become detectable, it's a different matter.

Mine scared the bejesus out of me.

I bought one and used it a few times between 12 week scan and being able to feel movement. I was well aware of the risks and the pitfalls and was prepared not to panic if I didn’t find the heartbeat. As it happens I have found it very quickly each time I’ve used it - though I’ve been very strict to only use it very rarely - and it’s made me feel really relieved to hear it.

Now that I’m feeling movements it’s being hidden away in the loft because I don’t want to risk any false reassurance from it and will listen to my body and baby instead x

I think they r fine as long as u know that they can't tell u if the baby is alright or not. to rely on movements ect to monitor baby not the Doppler. I have one it's nice to use and hear the baby

Don't. Don't. Don't.

As lovely as it would be to hear your baby's heart beat when you want to, it is a false sense of security.

My friend had one and one day she was worried as she had reduced movement. She had a listen in on her home Doppler and heard the heart beat. Because she picked up the heartbeat she assumed the baby was fine. It wasn't and she lost her baby two days later.

Just because a heartbeat can be found, it means the baby is alive, it does not mean that it's "well"

If you are worried you should go straight into triage. They are monitoring a fall and rise of the heartbeat in a certain manner that only a health professional can understand and interpret using technology, monitoring the heartrate over a certain time period while tracking foetal movements.

My friend also got told that if she would have come into hospital she could have been induced and maybe the outcome would have been different.

I used one so that my family could hear the heartbeat. The packaging was plastered with warnings not to use it for reassurance and to seek proper advice if you were concerned.

I have one, I am 12 weeks and listen to my baby often, I do hear my own heart beat too as you can imagine my womb is going to be full of my veins and arteries, but my pulse is around 80, my baby’s is way faster at around 165.... so can clearly tell when I have found my baby.
There is no reason not to buy one, however you should never use it in late pregnancy if you are worried about your baby’s movements, but in early pregnancy it’s fine to use one to reassure yourself

I have one - purely to listen to the heartbeat and so DS can listen to the heartbeat too. I would never use it for a medical thing of "oh the baby is ok" id always ring midwife if worried plus I got mine off ebay for £12 so thought why not!

I agree people can misuse then and presume all is ok but if its just a little bonding thing I don't see the problem.