There is nothing like the unique thrill of hearing your baby’s heartbeat. As you listen to your baby’s rapid heartbeat at the midwife’s office, it might help the pregnancy feel more real. It’s common for expectant mothers to feel comfort in hearing their unborn child’s heartbeat, and it’s also thought to be a positive approach to strengthen your bond with them.
Some ladies would prefer to have a listening gadget at home so they may share the new baby’s heartbeat with their husband and kids. Asking your midwife to let the complete family attend your appointment so they can all watch you throughout a typical pregnancy checkup would be a preferable course of action.
Pregnancy check-ups are anticipated by many expectant mothers who want to hear their unborn child’s heart beat once again. If the time between your midwife appointments seems too long, you may be wondering if using a fetoscope to listen to your unborn child’s heartbeat at home is safe.
When can I hear my baby’s heartbeat?
The early weeks of pregnancy are when your baby’s heart begins to develop. During your 12-week scan and subsequent routine ultrasounds, you will be able to observe your unborn child’s beating heart. Beginning about week six of your pregnancy, professional Doppler technology can detect the heartbeat of your unborn child with ease.
Many healthcare personnel wait until 16 weeks to check for a heartbeat because they run the risk of causing anxiety in the mother if they cannot locate one before then, even though it is occasionally feasible to hear the heartbeat before then.
The heartbeat of your unborn child can be detected with a fetoscope starting in week 20 of your pregnancy. You can ask midwives to try using a fetoscope instead of the Doppler, which is what they might normally do. Some midwives use a Pinard horn, a traditional piece of midwifery equipment designed to amplify the sound of the fetal heartbeat. This simple wooden horn is held against your bump as the midwife places her ear on the listening side of the horn.
Most Dopplers for home use can only reliably pick up the fetal heart rate during the third trimester, during which time you’ll be able to feel regular fetal movement anyway.
What is a fetoscope (fetal stethoscope)?
A fetal stethoscope (fetoscope) looks like a regular stethoscope, but the end is bell-shaped to make the fetal heartbeat audible. The modern fetal stethoscope’s bell mimics the shape of the Pinard horn. A fetal stethoscope doesn’t rely on technology or sound waves; it is a simple acoustic device to amplify the sound of your baby’s heartbeat.
Your midwife might use a fetal stethoscope to check your baby’s heartbeat during prenatal appointments. A fetal stethoscope can even help determine the baby’s position, as the heartbeat is loudest when the stethoscope is placed close to the baby’s heart. A midwife is trained in where to position the fetal heart rate monitor on the mother’s abdomen to determine the baby’s position.
One of the benefits of a fetal stethoscope is that it is a simple listening device, so the developing baby is not exposed to ultrasound waves. Although there aren’t any known risk factors perceived in ultrasound technology for a developing baby, experts advise keeping its use to a minimum and performing scans only when medically necessary.
Experts recommendation against using fetal heart monitors at home!
Unfortunately, although you might love listening to the steady beat of your baby’s heart, experts feel the risks of at-home fetal heart monitors far outweigh their benefits.
Maternal anxiety
Stress during pregnancy isn’t good for you or your baby, so the fewer things you have to worry about, the better. Although an at-home heart rate monitor might seem like a reassuring thing to have, it might also increase your anxiety about your baby’s health. You can easily end up in a loop: having intrusive thoughts about your baby’s health, using your at-home fetal heart monitor for reassurance, only to have another intrusive thought later in the day and reaching for the fetal monitor again.
It’s easy to misinterpret what you’re hearing
Midwives and obstetricians are specially trained to use a fetal stethoscope to listen to your baby’s heartbeat. Without this training, it isn’t easy to know exactly what you’re listening to. Although you might think you’re listening to your little one’s heartbeat, you could, in fact, be listening to your own heartbeat.
Inability to locate the heartbeat
Without sufficient training and experience, it’s not easy to locate the fetal heartbeat. Midwives have extensive device training as part of their midwifery training so they know how to interpret the data accurately. If you try to listen and can’t locate your baby’s heartbeat, you’re likely to end up in a panic unnecessarily, simply because you have insufficient training in using the device.
You won’t know how to spot a problem
Even if you do locate the heartbeat, you won’t be aware of any problems that might be indicated. Healthcare providers listen to your baby’s heartbeat to check for warning signs. As an inexperienced and untrained fetal stethoscope user, you won’t recognize when your baby’s heartbeat shows something is amiss.
Fetal stethoscopes offer false reassurance
If you experience troubling symptoms, such as reduced fetal movements or spotting, the temptation to reach for your at-home device might deter you from seeking help. If you think you’ve found a reassuring heartbeat at home, you might be falsely reassured and convince yourself a trip to the doctor’s office is unnecessary.
Tragically, there have been cases where the use of a fetal stethoscope has led mothers to delay seeking medical help for their unborn babies. Sadly, women who were concerned about a reduction in movements found reassurance from their at-home heart rate monitors only to discover later that their babies needed medical help.
Is there any harm in using an at-home fetal Doppler?
A fetal Doppler uses ultrasound rays, which could expose your baby to risk. There is no evidence of ultrasound rays causing harm but experts advise limiting ultrasound use during pregnancy. Ultrasound scans are only performed when there is a medical need; experts recommend avoiding at-home dopplers for that reason.
According to the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA):
‘Expectant mothers should also be aware of concerns with purchasing over-the-counter fetal heartbeat monitoring systems (also called doptones). These devices should only be used by trained health care providers when medically necessary. Use of these devices by untrained persons could expose the fetus to prolonged and unsafe energy levels, or could provide information that is interpreted incorrectly by the user’.
At-home Dopplers were intended to be prescription devices for high-risk women; they were never intended for mainstream use during low-risk pregnancies.
