Home / Community / May '17 Babies

I caved and bought a fetal doppler! 😳

M • Thu, Oct 13

So I just caved and bought one after my friend brought hers over last week. I was completely against it at first and I feel even more bad because I wrote several comments on someone's post here who was not sure about ultrasounds and was thinking they could be potentially unsafe as well as dopplers. I did feel very strongly about it, especially after reading conflicting evidence on ultrasounds and dopplers. I was even worried that I had two ultrasounds already at that point and that was too much and I could have harmed the baby. But after looking into it further (or maybe I convinced myself that it was ok because I was having so much anxiety before my second appointment which was yesterday and went great) and asking my doctor who told me it was fine to use one if I got one I think I convinced myself it's ok. I am still not 100% but thinking about it more will make me worry again!

At least there isn't concrete evidence that suggests it's very harmful for the baby. the fact that dopplers can heat up tissue and cause gas pockets to form is true. That's a proven scientific fact. They are used in physical therapy for that reason, but it seems like the ones that are for sale for fetal heartbeat measurements aren't as powerful. However some models could be so you should check that yourself. I read a whole study on it done fairly recently at NIH and compared the Heat index info from there and the numbers on the fetal doppler instruction brochure with the full info. and the mechanical index is low (MI<1 and thermal index as well TI<1) , which means it doesn't heat up as much (less than 1 degree Celsius per minute Or something like that) But since it still does heat up, you aren't supposed to use it for too long at a time or point it in one direction for too long.

The other fact that is true is the ultrasound does cause vibrations in the amniotic fluid and the sound can really bother the baby (it could sound like a freight train or something equally loud) especially after they can hear at 16 weeks. This is the reason we see a lot of activity on ultrasounds. But it seems like that is also not doing harm to the baby (supposedly). Just annoys them.

I will say this though, to those who aren't sure whether to get one or not or are having anxiety about their appointments, because I heard the heart beat on the doppler before my appointment I was able to sleep the night before and had no anxiety at all about something being wrong at the appointment. My own doppler just came in the mail today and I already used it and feel completely calm after hearing the heartbeat.

So far the only real evidence against dopplers is that if you are using it on your own at home the doctors have no way of knowing if you are using it properly and have no control over how long and how often your sessions are.

Second, you should never substitute using the doppler yourself for a doctors visit. And if (later) you don't feel the baby move but hear the heartbeat on the doppler you must still go to see the doctor and not just think it's ok. But I think at the stage I am now, 10 weeks 5 days the heartbeat is the only indicator that everything is ok aside from no cramping or bleeding.

Just as long as you don't have anxiety from not being able to find the heartbeat yourself which apparently happens a lot this early on, I think it's a great way to calm your nerves and gain confidence.

What do you ladies think? Is the doppler a good idea or do you also think it could cause harm?

Comment