Advice for At Home Doppler Use

bumpuser2548131 · January 2010

For those who have used at-home fetal doppler heart monitors:

Any advice on successful use? I rented one through bellybeats, and I should receive it tomorrow. I guess I was looking for my words of wisdom/tricks/etc that would help me find the heartbeat?

Also, how early were you able to find the heartbeat? At 10 weeks 2 days, I wondered whether I'd have to wait a couple weeks for better luck...

ColieJ · January 2010

I am 10 weeks 4 days and still can't catch it.

I am hoping it is just because I am a bigger girl or I have a tilted uterus or it is just too early or some other explanation.

Zista · January 2010

I couldn't find mine at 10weeks, some odd days with my home doppler (purchased). I did find it at 11weeks.

Advice: INCREDIBLE patience. Use u/s gel, personal lubricant, or baby oil. Start low at the hair line in the middle. Hold the speaker up to your ear (beware the squacks!) and at the slowest pace imagineable tilt the wand in every imaginable direction, pausing each time. Press into your belly. Find your heartbeat first, and then angle around to look for baby's (literally 2-3xs as fast... mine was 80, LOs was 170). If you don't find it, move a 1/2 inch to the side. Repeat.

It took me 30 minutes, and I finally found LO's h/b on the second pass over one area. For me, it is about 1+ inch left of the center of my belly, overlapping the hairline a touch, and angled down and out. Oh yes, and pressing.

Yours may be more sensitive then this (hope so!)... my OB found it dead center in about 5 seconds today.

Bethbsn06 · January 2010

I used a home doppler, and I work at an OB and dopple daily...

We don't even dopple until after 10 weeks, I heard my LO's HB about 11. The amount of belly fat can make finding the HB harder. 1st babies are harder to find as the uterus has never grown as such and takes longer to rise out of the pelvis. Sometimes the mother's HB is so loud it can drown out the baby's.

eml569 · January 2010

I'll tell you all of my tricks from doing it at work:

-Don't even try until you hit 12 weeks. To me, it isn't worth all of the stress you'll put on yourself if you can't find it. And it is really hard to find at 12 weeks, let alone 10.

-At 12 weeks, lube up really well and hold the probe just above your pubic bone but tilt it down. Always start right in the middle then angle different directions. Don't be afraid to push hard (not so hard it hurts, but hard enough)

-At 20 weeks the top of the ute is usually right around your navel.

-If you're not sure if you're hearing your HB or the baby's, have your SO check your pulse. Baby should be well over 100, you should be under.

Good luck! It can be tough, but definitely by 14 or 15 weeks you should have it figured out and be able to get it.

bumpuser2548131 · January 2010

Thanks! That's some great advice. It's good to get a solid reality check prior to trying the doppler myself. I knew that finding it would be difficult and tricky, but I think I have an even more accurate perspective now. Thank you!

bumpuser2548131 · January 2010

Good to know. Thank you.

bumpuser2548131 · January 2010

Thank you! Just cause I'm young and dumb, I'll still probably try to find it after I receive the doppler this week. However, I'm gonna basically assume that I won't find it. I DEFINITELY will know better than to fret if I can't find it.

And it's reassuring to know that by 14/15 weeks I should be able to finally figure out! Thanks!

kimmyt09 · January 2010

I found it at 9 weeks 2 days, took several tries and a lot of patience but once you find it, its unmistakeable.

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