Many expecting parents consider using a home Doppler to listen to their baby’s heartbeat between prenatal appointments. While this can seem like a simple way to ease anxiety and feel more connected to your baby, there are important considerations to keep in mind. This episode offers a closer look at how Dopplers work, the factors that can affect their accuracy, and what the research reveals about their safety. Explore the potential benefits and drawbacks of using a Doppler at home, including why some healthcare providers may advise caution. If you decide to purchase a home Doppler, hear tips for shopping for a device and using a home Doppler more responsibly.

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Vanessa,

I just had my first appointment at eight weeks, and my next appointment isn’t scheduled for another month. I am feeling so anxious about my baby being okay, and I have been looking into getting a home doppler to listen to the heartbeat. It sounds like it could give me some peace of mind. Most of the reviews are from moms who say it helped them feel more connected and less worried.

I brought it up with my OB, and she advised against using a Doppler at home. She said it can be difficult to find the heartbeat, especially this early, and that it could create more anxiety than relief. I understand her concerns, but I am still really tempted. It feels like being able to hear the heartbeat could help me feel less anxious, especially with appointments so far apart. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Is it a bad idea to get one? If not, can you recommend one? I’m just trying to figure out the best way to manage my anxiety without creating more issues.

Thanks again for the amazing podcast!

-Olivia

What is a Doppler?

A fetal Doppler is a handheld device that uses ultrasound technology to detect and amplify the sound of your baby’s heartbeat. The device uses a transducer or probe placed on your abdomen to send high-frequency sound waves into your belly. When waves bounce off moving blood cells, particularly in your baby’s heart, they return to the device at a slightly different frequency. The transducer is connected to a main unit or control panel that processes the ultrasound signal. It amplifies the sound and filters out noise, allowing you to hear the heartbeat more clearly. The result is a whooshing or galloping rhythm at a much faster pace than your heartbeat.

Home Doppler

A home Doppler is a Doppler device for individual use at home. Home dopplers are easy to use, and you can do it anytime from the comfort of your home. These are relatively inexpensive and easy to get with quick shipping. They have waterproof models, dopplers that connect to an app on your phone. It is magical to hear your baby’s heartbeat, as I am sure you experienced in your recent prenatal appointment.

Olivia you mentioned that most of the reviews for home dopplers are from moms who say it helped them feel more connected and less worried. The marketing from companies that make home dopplers definitely appeal to moms who are feeling anxious. Listening to your baby’s heartbeat can give you peace of mind. If you have the ability to hear it at home that is also an experience you could share with your partner, friends, family, or other siblings. On the surface a home doppler seems like a no brainer.

Feeling Anxious

It is completely normal to feel anxious about your baby being okay. Olivia, you just had your first prenatal appointment at eight weeks. Through the second trimester, appointments are every four weeks. Which can feel like a really long time to get reassurance that your baby is okay. Especially early on when you cannot feel your baby moving around. Other than experiencing some symptoms of pregnancy many moms do have some anxiety about their baby being healthy. The good news is that this gets easier as your pregnancy progresses.

Typically, your belly will start to show around the end of the first trimester, about week 12. Your belly will continue to get bigger throughout your pregnancy as your baby grows. Around week 16, you may be able to feel flutters from your baby. This feels as if a butterfly were flapping its wings inside your belly. Around week 20, you should be able to feel more substantial movements, such as pokes and kicks.

Finding the Heartbeat

Olivia, it’s great that you brought this up with your OB, and it’s no surprise that they recommended against it. Her reasoning was that it can be difficult to find the heartbeat. That it could create more anxiety than relief. Dopplers rely on detecting the motion of blood in your baby’s heart. Several factors can affect the ability to detect a heartbeat with a Doppler.

If your baby’s heart is angled away from the Doppler probe, it can be more difficult to detect a heartbeat. Certain positions, especially early in pregnancy, can make it more difficult to receive a clear signal. Next, the location of the placenta can also have an effect. If you have an anterior placenta, meaning it is attached to the front wall of the uterus, the Doppler waves have to pass through more tissue to reach your baby.

Your doctor is also correct that it can be difficult to find the heartbeat this early on. The uterus is still deep in the pelvis until about 12 weeks, and your baby is very small. Even with a good-quality Doppler, it can be difficult to detect a heartbeat. As your uterus and baby grow, this gets easier. Lastly, factors like a full bladder, being overweight, or having more abdominal tissue may also affect how clearly the Doppler picks up signals. Your OB brings up a good point that if you have trouble detecting the heartbeat, it can create more anxiety than relief.

False Sense of Security

Another downside of using a home Doppler is that it can create a false sense of security. In addition to your baby’s heartbeat, dopplers can pick up a variety of sounds. This includes your own heartbeat or blood flow, the placental pulse, or movement noises from your baby. It is a possibility that you mistake one of these for the baby’s heartbeat. There have been cases where mothers have ignored other warning signs because they had reassurance from a home doppler. As a result, they did not seek medical attention when they needed to.

If there are other warning signs like reduced fetal movement later in your pregnancy or symptoms that are concerning you should always reach out to your doctor or midwife. While a fetal heartbeat can be reassuring, you do not want to ignore other warning signs and delay medical attention. You also do not want to over rely on a device and ignore your body. If your intuition is telling you something is off contact your care provider, regardless of what you hear on a home doppler.

Safety

All home dopplers are marketed as safe to use at home. Many companies advertise home Doppler devices as FDA-cleared. This means the FDA reviewed and authorized them as medical devices, however, they are not recommended for home use. The FDA cautions that ultrasound can heat tissues slightly, and in some cases, it can also produce very small bubbles (cavitation) in some tissues. The long-term effects of tissue heating and cavitation are not known. Therefore, ultrasound scans should be done only when there is a medical need, based on a prescription, and performed by appropriately trained operators. The FDA extends this caution to Doppler fetal ultrasound heartbeat monitors. 

Animal Studies and the Research on Safety

There is animal research that has shown that ultrasound can cause damage to developing fetal and neonatal tissues. In one study, researchers investigated whether an ultrasound of the brain of a chick can lead to learning and memory impairment. Researchers exposed the brains of chicks on day 19 of a 21-day incubation period to 5 or 10 minutes of ultrasound waves or 1-5 minutes of pulsed Doppler ultrasound. After the chicks had hatched, researchers assessed learning and memory functions on day 2. The results showed that ultrasound exposure did not affect memory function. However, the pulsed Doppler exposure did cause significant memory impairment in the chicks that underwent 4 and 5 minutes of pulsed Doppler exposure.

The study demonstrated that prolonged exposure to pulsed Doppler ultrasound can adversely affect cognitive function in chicks when exposure occurs near the time of hatching. When ultrasound waves travel through tissue, the tissue absorbs the energy and converts it to heat depending on the frequency and intensity of the ultrasound wave.

Of course, animal studies do not directly translate to human outcomes. Chick embryos are not the same as developing human babies, and there are important differences in physiology. However, because it would be unethical to expose pregnant people or their unborn babies to potential harm in controlled studies, human research on the risks of Doppler ultrasound is extremely limited. In the absence of high-quality human data, animal studies provide the best available evidence to inform our understanding.

Using a Stethoscope

Olivia, I know it may be tempting to get a home doppler, and you have that option available. There is one alternative that does not carry the same risk of heating tissues, and that is using a stethoscope. By about week 23, your care provider should be able to hear your baby’s heartbeat with a standard stethoscope. This may take a little more skill or time to detect a heartbeat. This may not be helpful for you until later in the second trimester, but I want you to be aware of all options. Similar to hearing a heartbeat on a Doppler, the same risks of creating anxiety if you cannot find the heartbeat, or creating a false sense of security, would also apply to using a stethoscope.

Tips if You Get a Home Doppler

I always like to present pros and cons and encourage you to make the decision that feels right for you and your baby. If you do decide to get a home doppler, here are a few tips.

Shopping Tips

Although FDA clearance doesn’t necessarily mean the FDA recommends it for home use, you may want to consider a device that has received FDA 510(k) clearance. This means it meets basic safety and effectiveness standards for medical devices. I would also consider established brands that are used in medical settings or have good reviews from professionals, not just consumers. Once you have narrowed down your options, you can then compare product features such as displays and speakers.

Tips for Safer Use at Home

While it may be tempting to use a Doppler daily, you may consider limiting the use. When you do use it, you may limit the time to a short period. If there is heating of tissues, prolonged use may increase the risks associated with that.

You could wait until at least 14–16 weeks, when it is easier to detect the heartbeat. This could reduce the risk of creating additional anxiety from not being able to detect the heartbeat. Although the window when you likely have the most anxiety and cannot feel other signs are earlier on in your pregnancy.

A home Doppler can be a fun tool, but you should never use it as a substitute for medical care. Never use a home Doppler to reassure yourself in place of seeing your provider, especially if there are other warning signs. This could include reduced fetal movement, cramping, bleeding, or other symptoms. Always trust your gut and if it feels like something is off contact your care provider.

Do read the instructions and use the device as directed. Also, ensure you use the ultrasound gel to improve accuracy, not other lotions or oils. Ideally, your care provider would show you how to use it and help you understand how to distinguish your heartbeat or other sounds from your baby’s heartbeat. If they are not comfortable doing that, I would look for a clinical training video, not just one geared towards moms using a Doppler at home.

Talking to Your Doctor or Midwife

If you are considering using a home Doppler, be sure to talk it over with your doctor or midwife. Although routine prenatal visits are typically every four weeks during the first two trimesters, you can always ask for additional visits. Even a brief appointment to hear your baby’s heartbeat can offer reassurance and give you the chance to discuss any concerns. If you are struggling with anxiety that is hard to manage, please bring it up with your healthcare provider. Feeling some worry is completely normal, but if it is interfering with your daily life, it is important to seek support.

Keep in mind that the most likely scenario is that your baby is healthy. As your pregnancy progresses, you will begin to feel your baby move, which can provide regular and natural reassurance without the need for a device.

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