Fetal Dopplers to use of not to use

[Kmum27]

There is a lot of advice on the internet and from my midwife not to use an at home Fetal Doppler to listen to the baby's heart. I understand the message being given in all cases. But to date my midwife hasn't listened to the baby's heart at all (I'm 16 weeks). Bear in mind this is a super high risk pregnancy, but I am almost no contact with the midwife and when I do she does no checks at all - I don't know if that's due to Covid, NHS cuts or something else. I think a Doppler might help me feel less worried.
I'm interested to know if you use or have used a doppler and if its worth me getting one.

Never used one, never would. If you aren’t trained, I can’t see the the point. I’d worry that it would be just a huge false sense of security. I’m 19weeks and I hate this bit where you can’t quite feel them move but i still could never be tempted to get one.

Generally they don't listen to the heartbeat that early on as it's tricky to find when baby isn't very big and moves around a lot. You will find they start listening to the heartbeat and measuring your bump following your 20 week scan.

If you do decide to get a home doppler, please remember that they are in no way medically tested/hospital grade if they are sold for home use, so they may not actually be good enough to find it.
You aren't trained to use it, so you may either hear things you think are the heartbeat and get false reassurance or not find it and scare yourself.
If you have an anterior placenta (which you won't find out until the 20 week scan), that will make it harder to hear or find... I know it's hard to not know what's going on in your body, but I do feel that a doppler won't necessarily help with any anxiety.

First of all, it's very hard even for trained medical professionals such as midwives to detect the heartbeat earlier than 16 weeks, a lot of trusts don't even listen using them until much later on as a failure not to hear can cause necessary concern and stress to the mum. So I wouldn't e concerned no one has listened so far.

They aren't reccomended for home use as hearing a heartbeat doesn't always mean there is no issues, especially to an untrained ear.

"If you saw a person collapsed in the street would you check their pulse and walk away? No, you’d probably call an ambulance because this person is clearly unwell, even though they have a heartbeat"

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

www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/blogs-and-stories/im-pregnant/tommys-midwives/word-us-home-dopplers

Given your concerns, I would discuss with your midwife / consultant what monitoring will be put in place for you as your pregnancy progresses.

All the best x

Don't get one.

You have no idea how to use it properly.

A lot of people will find their own heartbeat/pulse and assume it's baby...

You don't know if it's actually a 'good' one.

It might make you more anxious if you "can't find" a heartbeat.

I don't think it's worth the stress OP.

Well first of all it’s perfectly normal for the midwife not to have listened to the baby yet at 16 weeks. They don’t start using the Doppler until 16 weeks at the earliest. My trust doesn’t start using them until after 20 weeks. Even an experienced midwife might not be able to pick up a heartbeat at 16 weeks.

As for getting a Doppler, if you understand the risks and limitations then I can’t see the harm but I also can’t see the point. You’ll never know if you’re using it correctly and that you’ve actually picked up the baby’s heartbeat.

I really wouldn’t if you’re not trained - I’m on my third pregnancy now and am still impressed how midwives can discern what weird noise is what and whose heartbeat is whose!

Previously I’d had the Doppler at 16 weeks but not this time. When I asked why I was told that the heartbeat was quite difficult to find at that early stage so lots of women ended up being referred on and panicked unnecessarily.

You should start to feel movements soon enough if you haven’t done so already, and will be much more aware of the baby (I’m 31 weeks and have a small foot jabbed under my ribs) which should help with the anxiety a bit. Also you’ll get more engagement from the midwives as you go along, especially if you’re a FTM.

I'm 28 weeks and I saw a midwife in person today for the first time since my booking in appointment. It took her a while to find my baby's heartbeat, even after all her years of practice and training!

Based on that experience alone, I doubt it would be easy for an untrained person to pick up a heartbeat on a 16 week old foetus.

I'd go for a private scan if you want extra reassurance.

It’s completely normal not to have listened to the babies heartbeat at 16 weeks because it’s too hard for a trained professional, with medical grade equipment, to find.

Do not use a home Doppler.

At 16 weeks, you won’t hear the baby yet. I’m 19 weeks and the NICE guidance isn’t to try until 24 weeks.

But no to home dopplers. It’s far too easy to mistake your heartbeat or the placenta for the baby and that’s risky.

Do not get one! They should be banned for home use.

They can give you false peace of mind. Go by kicks only.

I'm goona be the odd one out here, I used a Doppler in both my pregnancy's, from very early on about 9 weeks until i felt movements ( 2nd preg was high risk to as 1st was born very prem). I liked to listen to baby and for Dh to listen it helped him feel connected. I was fully aware that it was not to check that baby was fine and healthy I did not use it for that purpose.
I was also seen in clinic every two weeks and scanned so heard baby Heart beat then

The guidelines now state we shouldn’t be listening the heartbeat at 16 weeks. A) it can be hard to find depending on position and cause unnecessary worry, B) the fetus isn’t viable so if the heartbeat isn’t normal there is sadly nothing we can do and it will simply cause the mother distress C) hearing a healthy heartbeat at 16 weeks isn’t predictive that all is fine and doesn’t mean it will continue to stay healthy. So no benefit and lots of negative effects.

The heartbeat will be listened to later in pregnancy when it can be interpreted and managed correctly.

Home dopplers should be banned IMO, they are dangerous and too many women have lost babies after not seeking help because they heard a heartbeat on their Doppler and assumed all ok. It takes training to understand what you are hearing, it’s not as simple as heartbeat exists so all is fine.

Midwife didn't use doppler for this one until 28 weeks, at 35wk they listened again. I've had 3rd trimester growth scans and had the cord blood flow monitored on those.
I had a doppler from our 2nd child onwards, used until I could feel movement but it went tits up in the 2nd trimester with this one. They're okay to use but if you are worried you must consult a professional rather than rely on a home doppler for reassurance.

The first time my midwife listened to my LOs heartbeat was at my 16 week check and that was only because I had been in a serious car accident a few day earlier. She said that as this gestation it was not a guarantee that she would find the heartbeat but she did.

My midwife always felt my bump and put the dipoler right on baby first time. One appointment I had a different midwife and she did a tour of my tummy. She told me this was my heart beat, this is the blood flow through your placenta and here is babies heartbeat. Honestly I could not tell the difference in any of the sounds.

If you are lucky it will correctly sooth your concerns and there will be nothing a miss to find. But you very easily could spook yourself into thinking there is something wrong when there isn't or more worrying sooth yourself that there is nothing amiss when there is.
Stay away from them!

I wouldn't get one.

Docs have tried to find my little ones heartbeat three times, failing on the first attempt at 24 weeks. Second time it was fine at 28 weeks, third time at 31 weeks her heart was right next to one of my main arteries. I could not for the life of me tell the difference but the doc knew which was which. The sound was almost identical and the doc did have to concentrate hard to track the rhythm of her heartbeat. Hearing that I would definitely be giving myself false reassurance when actually it was my own heart beat essentially being picked up initially.

I've also read that as they aren't regulated the one you have at home could actually harm baby.

I had one during my twin pregnancy. But I do know the difference between a placental sound and that of a baby. I was able to pick them up and tell midwives/doctors where they could be found when they struggled

Even in a super high risk pregnancy they won't use a Doppler at 16 weeks. If you are that high risk then you'd be brought in for actual ultrasounds surely?

I was regularly in for monitoring on Dawes Redman machines - it can take 20 minutes to an hour for the machine to monitor a fetal heart rate and declare it passes the criteria successfully. A Doppler is a few seconds and tells you nothing other than at that point which you record it on the machine that there is a heart beat.

I won't tell you not to get one because I'd be being hypocritical but be very careful. They can give a false sense of security