Dopplers: Fine or Harmful?

Question

What's is your opinions about fetal dopplers? Not if they worked for you or not. I've read a few different articles that they can be not healthy for baby and exposes them to harmful frequencies. Getting at that you shouldn't do it more than what is offered at the Drs. Office…?

Answer

I've looked into this aswell, and I'm not sure, I think it's something I would ask my ob. But at the same time I cant justify the $ to get one when if I'm.patient I can hear it at my apt. Same for sneak peeks lol I'm gonna find out later I just need to be patient and save the money for my kid later on. 
From what I've read is having one at home can be harmful as you are likely to do it many time a week and exposing that much can do damage.

Answer

I am not a sonographer, however have completed an ultrasound physics course at university. 
To start off I’d like to clarify that I have zero judgment for anyone who chooses to use an at home doppler, the below is just a summary to help clear up some confusion as I see this question a lot. I personally don’t have one, but that is because I wouldn’t trust myself to not stress out 🙂
The problem with at home dopplers is they aren’t regulated like the machines you get at a medical appointment. 
There are two main risks with ANY ultrasound. A mechanical risk, and a thermal risk. A mechanical risk is the risk of a powerful ultrasound wave moving cells (think of a drink bottle floating in a pool, if a wave travels along the drink bottle will rise and fall as the wave travels past). If an ultrasound is too powerful it can damage cells by applying too much pressure on them. A thermal risk is the risk of a high powered ultrasound wave heating tissues resulting in something called cavitation. Cavitation is where little bubbles form in liquids (tissues in the body) creating a theoretical risk of damaging the tissues. This is why all of your medical ultrasounds have a MI and a TI rating on them, ensuring scans are performed at a safe level. 
The other risk in at home dopplers is false reassurance. You could very easily pick up on your own heart beat and think it’s the baby, or hear the baby’s heart beat and assume everything is fine. This isn’t necessarily the case though, and if you are using the Doppler for reassurance because you suspect something is wrong then you definitely should be contacting your doctor. 
In short, are at home dopplers safe? If used correctly and SPARINGLY probably. Should they replace proper medical advice? Never.   
I would recommend anyone looking at using one speak to their doctor first and get a more tailored recommendation based on how far along you are. 
Wishing you all a safe pregnancy

Answer

With my last pregnancy I used it everyday twice a day starting a 9 weeks until I could fee my baby kick. She turned out perfectly healthy.

Answer

I've also read that on top of the dangers already mentioned, sometimes people ignore concerning symptoms because they have a Doppler and when they hear the heart beat they think it means everything is fine.

Answer

My belief is they should be used sparingly. 
I like Chris Kressers article. He’s great at researching.
https://chriskresser.com/natural-childbirth-iib-ultrasound-not-as-safe-as-commonly-thought/
You can just google Chris Kresser ultrasound & it’s the first one that pops up, last updated 2019 .
He has links to studies etc

Answer

I find for me I don’t want one because I know it will cause more anxiety than it’s worth for me. If I don’t find the heartbeat right away I’d freak myself out more than if I’m only checking at my appointments.

Answer

I used mine at least once a week with my youngest, she’s now a healthy 3 year old. I plan on using it again around 9 weeks for this baby.

Dopplers: Fine or Harmful?

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