Has anyone hired a fetal doppler?

6 Comments

1. ~Jess~3rd princess due 1/12/10 says:

   September 27, 2009 at 5:11 pm

   I rented mine from babybeats.com. I believe it was $27 a month. I didn’t get the one with the display, although they do have those. They just cost more. I heard mine at 10 weeks, but only when I was lucky enough to find it. I could hear it on a regular basis at 12 weeks.
2. StephieK says:

   September 27, 2009 at 5:11 pm

   These sound really great before you get them. Of course they are accurate if it’s the same type they have at the doctors office. (don’t buy the ones you can get from walmart or target because they do not work- trust me).
   The only downside about it is this- you will become absolutely obsessed with checking your baby’s heartbeat. Any time you think something could be wrong you’ll be checking it and it’ll eventually drive you crazy. Not only that but you aren’t trained to know if it sounds "right". Women tend to overlook possible problems with their pregnancies if they have a doppler because they’ll check the heartbeat and figure if it’s there then everything is okay. That’s not always the case.
   I would suggest not doing this- just because women can get overly obsessive about it.
   And both of my pregnancies the doctor waited until about 10 weeks to even try to look for the hearbeat.
3. Jamie B says:

   September 27, 2009 at 5:11 pm

   I wouldn’t rent one, you’ll drive yourself mad with checking the heartbeat. My doctor doesn’t even have me do kick counts because he says that if you count every little movement you are going look into things too much and go crazy!

   My best advice is go to the doctor and let him do the checking. If he thinks you need a fetal doppler he can prescribe one for you.
4. Beelishy says:

   September 27, 2009 at 5:11 pm

   I didnt rent one, I just bought it. Different people have different experiences with theirs. Mine is an AngelSounds and I love it. My husband has actually uploaded clips of the heartbeat onto his laptop and we were able to convert the files and send them to my family who live in the USA (Im in the UK). However, I made a pact with myself before I got it that I would NOT get obsessed or get upset if for some reason I couldnt hear the heartbeat. Afterall, Im not a medical professional and I didnt know what I was doing or where to look in the beginning; I have used mine a handful of times over the past 31 weeks and have gotten the heartbeat everytime, except the first. Sometimes its harder to find than others but if you just have patience you’ll find it. And just make sure you realise that this device isnt of the same calibre as the ones in the hospital and we arent doctors or midwives so if you dont find it, it doesnt mean anything more than you just couldnt find it! Good luck and congrats!
5. Janey Due 2nd Oct 09 with #1 says:

   September 27, 2009 at 5:11 pm

   I hired this one from Hi-baby
   http://www.hi-baby.co.uk/acatalog/Hire_a_Doppler_.html
   It was fantastic, it says you can hear the heartbeat from 10 weeks but i didn’t hire it until i was 16 weeks so i don’t know.
   It picked up the heartbeat straight away without any practice.
   I was that impressed with it that i sent it back after 1 month and bought the exact same version off ebay.
   It has given me so much piece of mind.
   Good luck
6. Katharine says:

   September 27, 2009 at 5:11 pm

   I’m not going to i think i worry too much already and would get obsessive about it.
   i was a terrible poas addict when ttc so dont want to become neurotic.
   also as a non expert finding the heartbeat in a 9-10 week pregnancy is not easy and not adviseable so if you do rent one i would wait a bit longer. x