TTMA Fetal Doppler

[sunshiney]

Follow up with OB today, I heard Baby L's heart beat on her Doppler! At 12 weeks exactly. It didn't work at 10.5 weeks.

DH really wants to get one. I was petrified of the anxiety it could create and was against it but now I'm happy to get one for him. Who has one? When did it start working? Does it sometimes not work? What do you do? Do you recommend your model? Thank you so much!!

[notagoddess]

My OB really cautioned me against getting one for the sake of quelling anxiety. He said expect not to be able to find the HB sometimes and I don't think I could deal with that. But I know for others it's very reassuring to be able to check in between appointments.

[hrh]

sunshiney I know I've read about models ages ago with other pregnancies but have no clue what's currently good; we don't have the most active of BMBs, so if you don't receive any guidance here I'd throw it on a few of the 2018 BMBs to see if anyone there can suggest something good!

[Foxy]

My Dr also advised against getting one, one of my girlfriends did a lot of research on at home dopplers, so I pretty much just took her word for it, but i remember her mentioning that the at home dopplers can burn your LO and they don't like them so they try to "hide" from them. I have no idea if these things are true but the thought of it was enough to scare me out of using one. I have probably three at home dopplers in my Amazon save for later but can't make myself pull the trigger on.

[thelittleredm]

We bought one with our last pregnancy and we heard DS2's heartbeat more often than we didn't. But we didn't get it for reassurances, we got it to help DS1 feel more connected to the pregnancy. Made it feel more real to him.

[CharlieB]

(TW - Loss) I have the Sonoline B, and it got me through some very anxious weeks before the NT scan and NIPT, especially with two weeks of bleeding and spotting. I talked to my OB about dopplers after my MMC in February, and she had no issue with me ordering one.

I started finding the heartbeat at around 9 weeks; fortunately, I never had a problem finding it once I figured out the best location and position. It’s not something to be used frequently or for long periods of time, because there are concerns of elevating the temperature of the amniotic fluid (but I think that’s with pretty excessive use). I read another concern that people may hear the heartbeat and feel reassured in situations when a call to the doctor is needed.

It’s gotten trickier now that movement is increasing. On Sunday, I could only find the HB for one second before baby wiggled into a different position (and as I saw on my last sono, there’s a lot of wiggling happening). It took a little longer to find which just made me more anxious than I already was, so I won’t use it much anymore. Hopefully, I’ll start feeling movement in a few weeks.

TL;DR It was the right thing for me in earlier weeks, but LO is so active now that it’s hard to use.

[wildflowers]

I have one I received from a friend (a sonoline.) I also worried about if it was safe to use. From what I gather the concern seems to be primarily that people won't know how to use them and then will panic. It is unclear how much use is safe and what might be safe. Between 10 and 12 weeks I found it once or twice. I try to use it only when I am having extreme anxiety and feel like the advantages of me calming down are greater than any risks. (So I have only used it a few times.) Since 12 weeks I have always been able to find it so long as I take my time. I have a loss history so for me I think it helps.

[sunshiney]

Thank you so much, everyone! I shared your input with DH, and he decided that for him it wasn't worth potential harm to baby or possible anxiety if we don't find it. We decided against one after all and we feel good about the decision, thank you for helping us think of all the angles!