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Home fetal doppler

lilmamajenlynnlilmamajenlynn member
in 2nd Trimester
Has anyone tried the home fetal doppler? I am 15w and I can hear the heart beat but its saying like in the 80's-110's. Do u think thats mine or is it the doppler that cant count the beats bc its sounds like its going well over that!
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Re: Home fetal doppler

  • Beverly0628Beverly0628 member
    A normal resting heart rate for adults is between 60 and 90 bpm. Pregnancy can increase this by 10 to 20 bpm. So, I would guess it's your heart rate that the doppler is picking up. If you want to know the baby's hr, I would just count the beats for 30 seconds and double. Do this 3 times and then take an average.

     
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  • CarrieOct15CarrieOct15 member
    I agree with PP that you're probably picking up your own HB.

    Also, just playing devil's advocate here, but the FDA warns against using those at-home dopplers. There hasn't been enough testing to determine if they are 100% safe, so they recommend that you leave the doppler use to your doctor.


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  • whit3183whit3183 member
    I love my doppler, and I borrowed mine from a doctor, so I don't really have any concerns about safety.  (I've read the main safety risk is later in pregnancy, when people notice a decrease in fetal movement but then think that everything is ok because they can hear a heartbeat on a doppler, so they don't seek medical advice when they otherwise would.) 

    In any event, I've noticed that if I don't have the doppler wand in exactly the right place, the heart rate is skewed.  Mine is usually in the high 130s through low 150s, but if it's not in the correct spot, it will sometimes pick up crazy readings ranging from 110 to over 200. As soon as I get it in the right spot, it evens out to a "normal" range.  Also, the heartbeat sounds a lot stronger when it's in the correct spot. Make sure you're putting the wand low enough -- it should be fairly close to your underwear line. 
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  • danixbanani24danixbanani24 member
    The doppler can pick up the placenta which sounds like a heart beat as well as your own heart beat among other sounds.  I found it very hard to locate my baby's heartbeat with my own doppler especially because he's a mover and a shaker.  I got better at it as I went along in weeks but now I find I don't really need it anymore.  My mind is at ease and I'm nearing the third tri where I'll be getting more sonograms due to low PAPP-A.  Anyway, I found that if I could locate the placenta beat (which can be very similar to the baby's HB) and then slowly, and I mean SLOWLY, move the wand around that beat - I could get the baby's HB before he moved.  

    The baby's heartbeat sounds literally like a galloping horse whereas the placenta sounds like a fast, but regular, heart beat.  Hope this helps.
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  • eish22eish22 member
    edited July 2015
    I bet it's your heartbeat. I've gone in to the doctors office several times and had the nurse use a doppler to listen to my baby's heartbeat (I'm 15w3d) and often even after 10 minutes she will have found mine a couple times but not the baby's. I usually go pee, come back then she tries again and finds it after only a minute. She said it's important to have an empty bladder to find the baby's hb. So try going pee, then right after try to find the HB! Hope that helps . My hb is usually around 80, and when she finds my baby's it's between 150-160
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  • twogirlsandagreentwogirlsandagreen member
    The reading on my sonoline b is never accurate, but then again I only ever used it long enough to hear the hb for a few seconds for reassurance (sucker saved me sooooo much stress and worry after my mc's).
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