Doppler

mrsmommya

For those that have a doppler at home...or anyone who has any relevant info.  How often do you listen for baby's heartbeat?  Is there a max # of times you should be putting the wand on?

silvers626

I have one but I don't use it too often. Once a week at the most and then only for a few minutes. I did read that you should try to limit your usage since they do transmit energy but my midwife wasn't concerned about me having one. 

PleaseSendPicklesNow

I considered buying one, until I learned that the FDA says home doppler kits should never be used at home, or by anyone who isn't a trained medical professional. I'm not sure if the TOU allow links to other pages, but if you Google FDA fetal doppler, the first result is a useful article on fda.gov.

Take me with a grain of salt; I might be overly cautious, because we lost our first little bean. But if you must use one, I would use it as rarely as possible.

PinkLady2015

PleaseSendPicklesNow said:

I considered buying one, until I learned that the FDA says home doppler kits should never be used at home, or by anyone who isn't a trained medical professional. I'm not sure if the TOU allow links to other pages, but if you Google FDA fetal doppler, the first result is a useful article on fda.gov.

Take me with a grain of salt; I might be overly cautious, because we lost our first little bean. But if you must use one, I would use it as rarely as possible.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's because it could be harmful to baby but bc they are concerned that people will not seek medical care or see their doctor because they hear a heartbeat and assume everything is okay. Otherwise, I don't think that it can cause any damage.

silvers626

I did read some mixed opinions about whether or not it was dangerous. As @PinkLady2015 mentioned above, using it to "self diagnose" was my midwife's biggest concern.

Katekay3

I have one. I asked my doctor if it can be overused and she said no. I use it for about a minute every morning. I've had four losses and it gets me through the day. She wasn't concerned at all. The concern is when baby is sometimes hiding and women freak out not being able to find it. I have the sonoline b and love it:)

Edit to add: if you get one, I strongly recommend recording it on your phone once you find it. When you are feeling anxious go back and listen to it. This way I don't feel like I need to use the Doppler 24/7.

kaychar6

I used mine that arrived yesterday. Found the heartbeat after searching for a bit. It was so wonderful to hear. After a loss in April I feel it's a big stress reliever. Like katekay said record on your phone so you can watch it again. I found mine at 9 weeks 5 days.

noelietrex

We have one but we put a once a week max and once a month preferred rule on ourselves. It has been lovely getting to hear baby on demand though!

PleaseSendPicklesNow

According to the fda.gov article, the concern is that overexposure to doppler ultrasound waves can cause heating and sometimes bubbling of fetal tissue. Hearing the heartbeat on demand sounds incredible (and so comforting!), and I don't want to be a downer. But the FDA makes it sound potentially risky, so I feel it's important to to share this information.