Anyone use a doppler?

[Oakley16]

I'm really anxious about my pregnancy. I've got a doppler and found the heartbeat easily the first time, I've tried it again and thought I found the heartbeat but seemed to drop instead of staying steady. I know I should throw it away but I'm so anxious something is wrong

Oh lord don't use the D word here.

Your anxiety won't be sorted by hearing their heartbeat I'm afraid, there can sadly still be issues even with a lovely heart beat.

Throw it away and contact your midwife of you're worried. Good luck!

Please ditch the doppler and speak to your midwife about your anxiety. https://www.kickscount.org.uk/why-we-want-home-doppler-sales-to-be-regulated

Meant in the kindest possible way

Using a doppler will just make you more anxious if you cant find a heartbeat or think it sounds too slow or fast. Also it can give a false sense of security, for example if you feel reduced movements but check and heartbeat is there so therefore don't seek medical help. Throw it out.

Iv got one and you can't always find baby's heartbeat because of how they are positioned, also the baby wriggles about a lot so if it's dropping mid listen baby might be wriggling about/moving further away from the Doppler etc.
Some days nothing and some days find heartbeat (or what I think is heartbeat) fine :)
Personally I don't see the harm in them if you don't rely on them and make sure you seek medical help with any concerns, but everyone has their own views on these.
Hope this helps x

A doppler is going to do the opposite of calm your anxieties. Get rid of it and discuss your anxieties with your midwife or GP.

Thank you everyone. I went to see the doctor and she thinks it's just ligaments stretching and my bump has definitely made an appearance. Although still abit painful I'm feeling better and also seen my councillor about my anxiety

Bin the Doppler, do you wants to be bouncing ultra sonic waves constantly off your babies head.? I'd avoid it personally

I beg you to NOT use home dopplers!!
You are not trained on what you are hearing, the placenta and the fetal heart have a different sound and the heart rate will fluctuate and not stay steady. You will cause yourself unnecessary worry and also in some cases be reassuring yourself when there is actually a problem.
Throw it away and talk to your midwife about any anxiety you have xx

They should only be used by trained midwives.

So many mums mistake the sound of the placenta as their baby's heartbeat.

Bin the thing now. Should be made illegal to sell them to anyone other than medical professionals

Op, if you’re at all worried see the midwife or go to hospital for check ups etc (at mine we can go for monitoring at any point and I’m assuming they’re all the same)

It sounds like you’re fairly early on and I’ve found with both of my pregnancies the bump stretching is a bit uncomfortable

Also...the Doppler is so unreliable when using it at home. It can reassure you when it shouldn’t and also it can be hard to find the heartbeat. I’ve had student midwives standing there for 10 mins trying to find it when I’m heavily pregnant and the baby is wriggling away from them!

www.kickscount.org.uk/why-we-want-home-doppler-sales-to-be-regulated

Please don't use a Doppler any more op. When you think you are hearing the heart beat, you could be hearing anything - the placenta blood flow for example. The differences in sound are so subtle that you need to be a trained medical professional to reliably be able to know the difference.

Please read the attached article and think again.

I have binned it now. Thank you for everyones messages xx

Hey, I have got a Doppler and was able to pick up baby’s heartbeat from 9 weeks. Only using it as an entertainment and don’t think anything of it if I can’t find it each time. I just listen to recorded heartbeat to comfort myself if that happens :) I don’t spend more than 10min looking for it- if it happens it does if not thats no biggie. I found that I can spot it easier right after having a meal. Unfortunately there’s nothing that can be done very early on in the pregnancy when there’s no heartbeat. Once I start feeling regular movements I won’t be using Doppler anymore and will rely on my instincts and go straight to midwife/hospital if something doesn’t feel right and I think this is very sensible approach to take when using at home Fetal Doppler. During the the first trimester the baby is still very low as in almost under pubic bone so I suggest looking there. I often plug in the earphones first to a Doppler as I also found the loud noise from the speakers can make the baby hide straight away. Obviously if it’s under the bone you won’t be able to find it. Once, around 10 weeks I felt the baby move away from the Doppler ( I don’t carry any fat around my belly and thought that’s why I was able to feel it) Very strange feeling... and didn’t happen again so far. Good luck and don’t worry!

I used one during my last pregnancy (pregnancy after two horrid missed miscarriages) and it really helped my anxiety. They’re basically the devil on MN though . I liked the reassurance even though I felt him kick a lot towards the end, I still enjoyed listening in to his heart.