I just learned yesterday that it’s possible to rent home-use fetal doppler machines, so you can listen to baby’s heartbeat any time and reassure yourself that baby is still there and ok. I’m wondering if anyone here has had experience with one? They’re regulated by the FDA and listed as safe for baby but of course that isn’t 100%. Also, you have to get your rental approved by a doctor - so I called mine and she apparently doesn’t like them. She said they’re harder to use than they seem, esp this early (I’m 10 weeks tomorrow) and can cause undue stress when mom and dad can’t find the baby’s heart beat, even tho baby may be fine.
These last 2 weeks have been very slow and hellish…and we still have 2 more to go before our next doctor’s check in. This is right about the time we lost our last pregnancy so that’s why we’re extra nervous. It just seemed like a gift from god to hear we could check on things at home! But hubby is lukewarm to the idea.
If anyone is curious, the site I was looking at was www.babybeat.com. Apparently they can rent for anywhere from $20/month up to $50 or $60 (or prob higher). I would love to hear a story from someone who’s tried one!
I have been on the receiving end of poor parents who have used these and can’t find the heartbeat. Babies were fine but the terror it caused those parents was bad. I’m half way through my midwifery degree, I can tell the difference between a fetal heartbeat and a maternal one but lots of people can’t. As you are quite early on I wouldn’t recommend using one as it is incredibly difficult to locate a fetal heartbeat at 10 weeks. If you absolutely must have one of these though, wait until you are at least 16weeks along and you are aware that sometimes it may be difficult to find the heartbeat or you may spend time listening to your own.
@sweekune: Thank you so much for chiming in! It’s, of course, not what I was hoping to hear, but it totally makes sense and reaffirms what my OB and my hubby feel as well. I’m really unsure of how to get thru the next 2 weeks with my sanity in tact but I’ll just have to figure it out!
It’s true-- a 10wk fetus is only an inch long. Finding the heartbeat is tough. It should be quite easy to distinguish between the maternal heartbeat (60-90 bpm or so) and the fetal (120+) but I think they would cause a great deal more anxiety than reassurance.
I bought one in my first trimester at a friends suggestion…a sonoline b for about $50. I was torn, but it ended up being a good call and really eased my stress. That said, I understand your doctors concerns too.
My OB warned me that early on I might not always find the heartbeat right away, so you do need to be prepared for that and not panic…but I was always able to find it in a minute or two starting around 11 weeks. I used it once or twice a week to reassure myself until I started feeling regular movement. Then only every so often if I hadn’t felt anything for awhile and was starting to freak myself out.
I think for some people they’re awesome to provide some extra reassurance, others it does cause more stress when you inevitably hit a day when it takes longer to find. I never had trouble telling babys heartbeat from my own…I know my resting heartbeat is not 145.
I had one with DD and found her HB consistently from 9 weeks on. It really helped after my previous miscarriage. I got one again this time around (I am 12 weeks) and had the exact opposite experience. I couldn’t find the bean at 10 weeks, and spent literally hours trying over a week, had sleepless nights, dreamed about telling my family and friends that my baby had died, etc. before I went back to the OB at 11 weeks. She couldn’t find my bean on the doppler either but did a quick ultrasound (like less than 3 minutes) and had to shove that probe (the abdominal one) down as far/hard as she could to find him/her, although babe is there, heart is beating away at 160 beats, and already looks like a little tiny baby (I could see a profile and saw the face move :). [name]Babe[/name] is just as far to the back of my uterus as his little one inch self can be. I am also overweight, which generally does make finding the hb more difficult (just something to take into account).
So I used to recommend them because my first experience was wonderful. But the torture I experienced that week was totally unnecessary. I still have mine but I have not touched it since my appointment.
If you get one I recommend not using it till 12 weeks. According to http://www.fetaldopplerfacts.org/facts/dopplers/fetal-doppler-use.php (I have no idea if this site is legit, but my doctor told me pretty much the same thing) at the 12 week mark baby’s heartbeat can be heard 95% of the time and 100% ott at 14 weeks.
I refuse to buy one this time around. I had one when pregnant on [name]Amelie[/name] and on TWO separate occasions (19 weeks and 32 weeks respectively) I was unable to find a heartbeat, almost gave myself a heart attack, and ended up racing to the hospital for a scan to make sure everything was okay. Everything was fine, obviously. It just wasn’t worth the worry for me.
I used one through 1st and 2nd trimester and part of 3rd (I just returned it a couple weeks ago). I rented mine from Stork Radio. I started using mine around 10 weeks. I wouldn’t recommend it that early. I was able to find a HB just about every time I tried to find it, but sometimes it took me a [name]LONG[/name] time. That early on, the uterus is still below the pubic bone for most women. I had to really jam the wand downward into my pelvic cavity to even hear anything. However, hearing the HB was a huge reassurance to me. I am definitely a glass half empty type of person, so knowing that I could listen to the HB on those early days when I didn’t always “feel” like I was preggo was a big help to me. Those panicky moments when you can’t find the HB can be terrifying, though.
It’s easy to distinguish your HB from baby’s. [name]Baby[/name]'s is much, much faster (around 130-150 bpm) and almost sounds like a locomotive.
You’ll save yourself a lot of freak outs if you wait until about week 13 or 14. If you do rent one, just remember the baby and the uterus is probably a lot lower in your abdomen than you’d expect so when searching for the HB, keep the wand down near the pubic bone. You usually have to play around with the angle of the wand and really search for baby’s HB.
Although I did have some stressful moments once in awhile, the benefits of the doppler definitely out weighed the negatives, and I’d do it again.
Yes, I’m convinced this is what would happen to me. I’m a worrier and I was tempted to get one when I was pregnant, but I felt like it would just make it worse if I had to struggle and possibly fail to find the heartbeat.
I wouldn’t be comfortable using a Doppler continually on my foetus. Dopplers use sound waves and I don’t believe it’s totally safe to expose your foetus to this on a regular basis throughout pregnancy.
Thank you again, very much, everyone for the feedback. I really appreciate the thoughts and opinions, and especially the people who have had experience with a doppler firsthand! Nameberry is generally so wonderful for thoughtful, respectful conversations, I just love it. There are so many baby sites out there where it’s all about drama and craziness - and I’m already so stressed out, I really couldn’t deal with that too.
We are still thinking it over and discussing it. We’ve done all the research, there’s absolutely nothing that conclusively shows it could harm the baby. And it’s not anything we would be doing “continuously” - I’m thinking never more than once a week, and even that wouldn’t be necessary once the baby starts moving on his/her own and I can feel that it’s ok. This would just be something to get thru the next month or two - after you’ve already lost one, the early months are literally hell (as many of you already know). Stress isn’t good for baby either so the reassurance that comes from hearing the heart beat could certainly benefit all of us. But we may not order one - hubby comes home from work today so we’ll finally be able to talk it over face to face instead of on the phone.
For all who are worried about the possible pernicious effects of Doppler waves-- there are none. You best not live on planet [name]Earth[/name] if you want to keep your developing baby free from exposure to sound waves, as they are constantly emitted (by the earth itself, by broadcast communications, by everything within audible range that actually makes a sound). Sound waves of all frequencies penetrate tissue just fine (after all, your baby can hear in the womb) and there are no deleterious effects, nor do they ‘move things’ unless they are of earthquake magnitude. Supposing otherwise is the worst kind of ungrounded fearmongering.
I’m pretty uneducated on this as I never brought one and never had any interest in one, but my friend used one and couldn’t find the heartbeat and ended up panicking, thinking there was something wrong with the baby. Her baby was fine but it doesn’t seem worth the stress if you can’t find a heartbeat… I can’t say I wouldn’t panic if I couldn’t find one either, to be honest. It’s your decision though, obviously.
I hadn’t heard that they could harm the baby? I would say that it’s pretty unlikely because tons of people use them and have healthy babies.
I hear the concern straight after a loss, but I know for me it would cause me even more stress.
Since my loss at over 7 months I’ve realized that for myself, the less I know the better. The more I feel less in control, the more I feel that there is a greater and higher being taking care of and monitoring the situation. In fact, I haven’t even looked at sonogram screens in subsequent pregnancies because I don’t like the potential of seeing that something is wrong.
I do go for more regular visits to the doctor to have her check up on things, but my feeling has become ‘In between visits and hearing heartbeats hearing that the fetus is healthy, I cannot control or do anything to influence whether this becomes a loss or not.’ Stepping back has long since helped me regain my sanity and drop the pessimism that went hand-in-hand with pregnancy for me.
I wish you luck with whatever you choose to do, and learn to relax in whatever way is best for you.
[name]May[/name] things go well!
I’m not “fearmongering”. I think it’s sensible to avoid exposing your baby to radiation, sound waves, etc, as much as possible, even though it’s impossible to eliminate them entirely. If you use Dopplers, your baby will probably be fine. It’s a personal choice and I plan on avoiding Dopplers and limiting ultrasounds during my pregnancy. That’s just what makes sense to me.
Radiation, obviously. Dopplers and ultrasounds don’t contain an iota of radiation and have zero downsides or deleterious effects on a developing baby, or mother.
You are of course free to make your own choices but I assume you want accurate information on which to base them.
I never suggested Dopplers and ultrasounds contain radiation. I was simply stating that we’re regularly exposed to low levels of radiation in our everyday lives.
It does seem that the fetal heart rate might be pretty elusive this early on… but I’m all in favor of getting whatever level of information you need to feel secure. Did your doctor have any thoughts about this idea?
The FDA does warn against using them “over the counter without prior consultation with a healthcare professional.”
Later in your pregnancy, perhaps a fetoscope with a long cord would be a good option. They’re completely innocuous, though not as easy to hear with. I was told by midwives who shall remain nameless that dopplers emit stronger “potentially disturbing” sound waves than ultrasound scans. Is this true?
Thank you everyone! @blade: thank you for the information. I’m a science and research-based person myself so I really appreciate hearing about the actual data that’s out there. It strikes me as kind of funny how utterly paranoid we’ve become… babies have been born healthy for millions of years, yet the further we go into the future and the further science gets, the more terror and fear we add into the process. [name]Don[/name]'t eat this! [name]Don[/name]'t TOUCH that! [name]Don[/name]'t breathe more than this many times a day! Eeeesh. We know stress is bad for baby so seems to me like scaring the hell out of mother’s everywhere would be counter-intuitive. @flamingo: thank you, your thoughts really struck a chord with me. I’m sorry for your loss too. Basically what you said is what i’ve been trying to do: just let go and take a step back. [name]Even[/name] if we were to find out if baby is not ok, there’s absolutely nothing that can be done about this early on. And it’s not my fault and would have nothing to do with anything I’m doing, it’s just the way nature works some times. I think, at this point, we are leaning towards not renting one. Too much fear of not being able to find the heart beat ourselves and I’m thinking maintaining my sanity might be easier going the route you suggested for yourself. If I can manage it! Sometimes I’m good and I’m cruising along doing just fine - and then sometimes it will feel like I got a punch in the stomach and all the fears will come flying back. But usually I can talk it out, or cry it out, with my hubby and feel ok again. I guess for some of us that’s just how pregnancy is going to be. Not fair but that’s reality! :-/