Questions & Answers

Thanks ladies for your advice and experiences. Much appreciated.

Continued ... So while it's theoretically possible to microwave your baby, it's never been documented.

My advice: Use common sense and limit the amount of time you use the Doppler and enjoy!

I got my Doppler at 7wks, tried twice a week but couldn't find the heartbeat until 9+0wks. Then tried not to panic when I couldn't find it at 9+6wks (US at 10wks showed everything fine). Found it again at 10+4wks. I plan on using it about twice a week until I can feel Lil' Bub regularly.

Try it out, let us know how it goes!

The controversy is that high frequency waves can cause cavitation (creation of small gas bubbles) and localized heating. The cavitation risk is essentially zero as there isn't any gas in the uterus to begin with, and cavitation needs a microscopic gas nuclei. Its theoretically possible, but has never been seen. The heating concern is more valid, but depends on the length of time you use the device, the frequency of the device (3Mhz is better for earlier pregnancy detection, but 2Mhz is more common), and the power of the device (look it up with manufacturer, generally the more expensive the device, the more powerful it is). The only studies I've found were written by doppler manufacturers, but trying to measure temperature changes at the fetal level (using bone surrogates, which would get hotter than tissue) haven't seen anything. One study showed temperature changes at the skin level next to the probe were the only observed temperature changes. Character limit ....

We bought one for our last baby and used it all the time. Definitely money well spent and I haven't heard of any complications from using it. It brought much peace of mind since we suffered a miscarriage in the past. Hearing that little heartbeat every couple days really got me through feelings of worry last time around and we have been using it this time too.

They are very safe =) My doctor actually suggested to me to get one as he said it brings a lot of his patients peace of mind to listen to baby's heartbeat every day, but I never bought one lol. I feel her move all the time so I never really felt the need.

I have had 4 losses, and my OB is a family friend. He let me borrow one of the office dopplers. He said daily was fine, don't freak out if you can't find it, try again in one hour. I used it daily 11 weeks until I felt consistent movement around 16-18 weeks. I was never unable to eventually find the heartbeat, sometimes it took a few minutes. It was a great peace of mind.

I checked on bub once or twice a day for about 14 weeks. We had 3 losses prior to him and I was an anxious mess. After about a week I settled down to once a day (sometimes every second day) and by 20 weeks I barely used it at all.. I pull it out occasionally (very rarely) now at 32 weeks for peace of mind if he's having a quiet day with not much movement

I just got one a couple weeks ago. I did a lot of research on it first, and from what I read, it's very safe. They say to limit yourself to three 10-minute exams a week, but that's just a recommendation. The research I did said that it's been used for decades and there hasn't been a single instance of a reported complication due to the Doppler itself. Sounds very safe to me! I love it; I thought I would use it more than a few times a week but it seems like my curiosity is satisfied by just using it every few days. I started using it in my 11th week and it took me a lil bit to find the heartbeat but now that I know where it generally is, I can find it like a pro. Have fun and enjoy!