Home doppler

MissMheMhe

Will you be purchasing or have you purchased a doppler for home use? I'm going back and forth on this. I know there are mixed reviews about ultrasounds and how they affect a developing baby. I would imagine using it every day for prolonged periods could possibly cause harm, but I would think once or twice a week to 'check in' on little peanut would be safe and reassuring between appointments, right? There is also the added stress of not finding the baby's heartbeat, but I've seen multiple videos and know the machines come with instructions so I'm pretty sure I could make it work. I'm going to check with my dr's office to see how they feel. If my dr is against it completely, I will of course follow his guidance.

What are your thoughts?

bananers

I ended up buying one last pregnancy. Since our first pregnancy was a missed miscarriage, I had all kinds of anxiety about the baby's heart stopping in between appointments and walking around for weeks not knowing. The Doppler really saved my sanity. Best $50 I ever spent, and I've since loaned it to FOUR friends who had also had previous losses, so I loved being able to pay it forward. I'm getting it back from a friend at her baby shower today, in fact!

Last time I didn't even try to find it on my own until I was 14 weeks, and even then, it was hard to find. It was much lower than I'd expected. I only let myself use it once a week, and I never paid attention to the BPM. I had heard it's not always super accurate anyway, and I didn't want to drive myself crazy analyzing whether it was slower than the last time or anything. It was just my weekly check-in to make sure baby was still alive. I also stopped using it once I started to feel movement on a regular basis.

fragglemom

I've been having the same struggle. My "cons" are that most don't seem to work until at least 16 weeks, I read an article saying it "could be" harmful if used often, and I think I'd freak out not being able to find a HB which I guess happens often just because of mistakes in use or positioning. I really wanted one because we had a missed miscarriage and I know I'm going to live in terror from US to US. Ugh. I'd be really interested to hear what anyone has to say too.

MissMheMhe

@bananers Thank you very much for your response!! Your reason is exactly what I am feeling! It's wonderful you were able to help out your friends as well!!

On another topic, were you on TTCAL 2+ years ago? I recognize your name and pic. I was MissMheMhe back then....

MissMheMhe

@jessfragione, I don't plan on using it until the 2nd tri at least. I know it's far too early now. From what I've been told and what I've read, 12-14 weeks is the norm for home doppler use. Your size has a lot to do with it, too. I'm a little overweight, so it may be closer to 16 weeks before I would be successful. I still think I want to try, though.

l4rk

I don't think I will get one. I read that many women get both false negatives and false positives (by accidentally listening to other parts of their body). Knowing that, a doppler would give me little peace of mind...

fragglemom

Me too! I'm wondering if I have the restraint to only use it once a week. @bananers what's the brand that you used? I'd be really interested in checking it out.

mollyj931

My dad is a retired obgyn and brought an older one home for me during my first pregnancy. I used it pretty frequently to give me peace of mind.

Definitely don't try to use one until after your dr has found the heartbeat with a Doppler and you can see where you should be looking.
There were sometimes that I couldn't find it and I was able to take a break, and check later without freaking out. If this will stress you out, I wouldn't recommend getting one.
Once I felt baby moving more frequently it was rare I used it.
Good luck!!

bananers

MMLmeow said:

@bananers Thank you very much for your response!! Your reason is exactly what I am feeling! It's wonderful you were able to help out your friends as well!!

On another topic, were you on TTCAL 2+ years ago? I recognize your name and pic. I was MissMheMhe back then....

Yes, I was! I remember you, MissMheMhe! How are you?

bananers

jessfragione said:

Me too! I'm wondering if I have the restraint to only use it once a week. @bananers what's the brand that you used? I'd be really interested in checking it out.

I got the sonoline B from fetaldoppler.net. It worked great, and held up through mine plus 4 friends' pregnancies!

MissMheMhe

bananers said:

@bananers Thank you very much for your response!! Your reason is exactly what I am feeling! It's wonderful you were able to help out your friends as well!!

On another topic, were you on TTCAL 2+ years ago? I recognize your name and pic. I was MissMheMhe back then....

Yes, I was! I remember you, MissMheMhe! How are you?

Doing really good!! I remember before when you were pg. Can't believe your DS is 2 now!! I stepped away from the boards for a while, choosing to remain close to a few ladies on FB, but when this pg happened, I knew I would go crazy w/o somewhere to ask those nagging questions and felt I would be better off with ladies currently experiencing it. So happy to have reconnected with you!!

jonesl12

You can take your own pulse while u use the Doppler to be sure it's the fetus not yours. Unless u know what you are doing I wouldn't try it before 11 weeks . I work ob/gyn and its overwhelming the amount of women that call and say they can't get heart tones at home and completely freak out. I bring them in and use our Doppler and 99% of the time I hear a happy little heartbeat and ease their minds. So do yourselves a favor and watch videos on YouTube or online and learn how to use it so you don't freak yourself out when you don't hear anything but your femoral artery. Better yet.. Have your dr or staff show you how to do it in the office and how to not overdo it

Chelsey092

I bought a heartbeat doppler during my last pregnancy and loved it. I started around the 2nd trimester. I listened to the heartbeat once or twice a day just to reassure myself.

catnipskma

I used an app on my iPhone for my last pregnancy, and I still have the heartbeat recording on my phone . It didn't work every time, I'm sure not as consistent or accurate as the dopplers being suggested, but it was fun to play with, and I love the recording feature