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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Heartbeat monitor - is it worth getting & if so which one?

53 replies

pregnancy1 · 25/03/2008 10:41

Morning,
It's my own fault....I've just watched ER series 10 when the baby dies in the womb and now would feel much better if I had some evidence that bean was still okay between scans.
Does anyone have a heartbeat monitor? If so, would you recommend it & which brand? I'm not sure whether it will reassure me when I can hear something or drive me to distraction if I can't....
As you can guess it's my first pregnancy. I'm 19 weeks (3 days) and very occasionally feel twinges that may or may not be bean, but need reassurance.
All advice gratefully received!
xx

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Lulumama · 26/03/2008 15:07

i actually do not thikn they are a good idea either

if you cannot find the HB, it sounds too slow or too fast, you are going to see teh MW anyway

i am sure it is one of those things that could become really compulsive ..

once the baby is moving, they are not necessary either, so such a short space of time, they are actually going to give you any reassurance

i don;t like them at all and would not have contemplated buying or using one

if women are super anxious, then that needs to be addressed , but not this way IMO

have posted similarly on all the doppler threads i have commented on

Aitch · 26/03/2008 15:07

so as a midwife if you had a woman coming in every day to listen to her unborn child's heartbeat you'd be fine with that and let her, every day and you wouldn't write anything in her notes? why would you say to her it wasn't necessary, then? it obviously would be, for her.

Lulumama · 26/03/2008 15:09

i think women who are super anxious need more reassurance, and it should be given by a MW

belgo · 26/03/2008 15:11

I agree with lulumama. I can see that they do give reassurance in some circumstances, but I think it is the case of manufactuers playing on a pregnant woman's fears.

I've heard of some women trying to use them when only 9-10 weeks pregnant, and I don't think that is a good idea.

carmenelectra · 26/03/2008 15:14

Thanks lulu.

Aitch,

I would not write anything nasty or imply that she was odd in anyway, if thats what you mean(som midwives would, i know), but it would depend on her history. If she had lost babies before then of course its absolutely understandable to want to listen all the time.To me, it takesa minute and i wouldnt mind one bit.

As for telling someone it wasnt necessary. I mean, if someone were say 17 wks or so and had maybe felt scanty movements of something, then nothing that day. I would listen in and then maybe explain that at that gestation it normal not to feel movements everyday and try not to worry about expectingregular kicks so early on.

Aitch · 26/03/2008 15:14

lulu, if you've lost babies before then for those six weeks or so between using it and the baby moving it is imo definitely, infinitely worth it for the reassurance. it isn't difficult to find the heartbear, i never once had a problem with my machine. had i done so, it said quite clearly on the instructions to wait a few hours and try again, then phone the hospital. tbh if the baby was dead at that point then you wouldn't have known about it anyway.

i did ask to listen to the heartbeat with my midwife at the GP's surgery and she wouldn't let me becasue she didn't have time for things like that (and said, har har, it could become a compulsion and wasn't necessary, like that was her call to make) and so i transferred my care to hospital and bought a doppler.

still no figures of the terrible harm they're doing, i'm really interested to hear them.

belgo · 26/03/2008 15:15

I don't know if there is any proof that they are dangerous, but when I went for an eight week scan the sonographer told me that they do not listen to the heart beat at this stage as it may upset the baby. It got me wondering how much is really known about the use of dopplers and scans for that matter, during pregnancy?

Lulumama · 26/03/2008 15:18

i see where you are coming from aitch. and i am glad that for you it was reassuring and did give you the comfort you needed. and sorry that your MW did not address your fears

i was going to make the point belgo just made , that we don;t actually know if it is totally harmless to the baby

whenever i went to the MW for ante natal checks, as soon as the doppler went on my tummy, DD legged it! every time. had to scurry around after her to find the HB, as it were..same if i had monitoring in hospital.

if it can take a MW with lots of experience a good while to find a HB and they don;t try to find it routinely before 16 weeks, then that says something about doppler usage.

i can see how they can reassure, but also teh pitfalls

belgo · 26/03/2008 15:19

Aitch it's interesting you should raise the point about reassurance. Stress during pregnancy is potantially harmful (again, don't know any figures!) and I suppose there could be an arguement that the reassurance a doppler would bring would help the woman not to be so stressed out and therefore more relaced, and ultimately that could be benefical to the baby (and the woman)

carmenelectra · 26/03/2008 15:20

Not saying they are dangerous, just think people should self diagnose or follow too much advice they read on the internet.

belgo · 26/03/2008 15:21

Having said that, I used to get so stressed out every time the midwife came near me with a doppler, but heartrate would go sky high and the midwife would find it hard to distinguish my heart rate with the baby's!

Aitch · 26/03/2008 15:23

but what are they self-diagnosing? there's a hb or there isn't one.

personally i think mine was worth its weight in gold and i rather object to the characterisation that anyone who wants one or needs one is anxious to an unusual degree. as belgo says, having the doppler and using it for a brief few seconds every 3 days really reduced my stress levels.

carmenelectra · 26/03/2008 15:25

What worried me is that women may not actually pick up the hearbeat, but sounds of the placenta/cord or even their own pulse, think its the baby and hes ok.

DONT see 'astonishing' numbers of people with devices, but many people who havent bothered seeing a midwife when they should because they have self diagnosed from internet of whatever.

carmenelectra · 26/03/2008 15:26

AND although hearing the hb is of course reassurance, but do women know if its too fast too slow or ok?

belgo · 26/03/2008 15:28

I do see your point Carmenelectra. Dopplers should be used with caution and a good deal of common sense, and certainly not at the expensive of professional medical.

Lulumama · 26/03/2008 15:29

agree carmen, and tehre is a variation in what is a normal HB for a baby too

i can see both side, but would err on the no home doppler use and seeing MW more frequently, personally

Aitch · 26/03/2008 15:30

but if they've picked up the sounds of the cord and the baby is dead (if that's even possible) then that would only ever have been picked up at the next ante-natal anyway, so what's the diff?
i'm really interested to know how self-diagnosing from the internet has changed medicine, with specific examples from your experience tbh. i don't deny it takes place, i just amn't sure how it keeps people away from doctors and harms babies, or on what scale it does.

Aitch · 26/03/2008 15:31

they don't know if it's too fast or slow. just like they wouldn't have known if they hadn't had a doppler. has anyone actually suggested ditching ante-natal care?

belgo · 26/03/2008 15:32

Aitch - have you read 'Freakonomics'? That has an interesting chapter on how health care has changed due to the internet.

Aitch · 26/03/2008 15:33

no, what does it say?

belgo · 26/03/2008 15:36

People have more access to information then ever before and their expectations have risen. The gap between non medics and medics is becoming smaller because of it.

belgo · 26/03/2008 15:37

anyway, can't discuss further dd1 wants the computer

carmenelectra · 26/03/2008 15:39

Iam not saying that self diagnosing has changed medicine.lol

I tend to be worried that there are a group of people who buy dopplers or pretend dopplers to check they have a live baby. That shocks me when women do that. Andanother group who dont get checked out for ages when there is an apparent problem and then its too late.

As lulu said most mw's dont check for fh before 16 wks, but women who have no experience do it at home.

Anyway, dont want to get into a row about this, just dont like the bloody things!

Nelif · 26/03/2008 15:44

Maybe I can try and calm the situaltion a little here..

When I wrote giving my feedback on the doppler I had used, I was in no way saying it was a replacement for advise from a HCP.

I was just merely saying that hearing a heartbeat gives reassurance, even if you had no reason to think anything was wrong in the first place.

Midwives are so busy these days, at my surgery we have to wait from 15 weeks to 25 weeks to see our midwife. At the 15 week appointment the heartbeat had not been listened for yet and so I was keen to hear it and decided to buy a doppler. I by no means use it to analyse if everything is OK just a little reassurance. I think it has done me good to use it as it makes me feel great when I hear my baby's heartbeat.
I have been lucky that I have always found the heartbeat quickly and it has been very loud, no mistake!

I really don't think any of us who were saying how good they are were in any way implying it replaced the advise of a midwife.
However I must add that when its your first pregnancy you have no idea what to expect and no idea what is normal, and a little reassurance even if it is just a noise and we have no way of knowing if its good or bad really helps your sanity!!!

Helen x

belgo · 26/03/2008 16:25

that's interesting Nelif. It points out failings in the NHS if women are unable to turn to their midwives for reassurance due to the pressure midwives are under.

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