Dopplers - worth getting one or not?

[ClareBear28]

Thanks everyone, I guess I'll just have to sit my fiance down and see if it's what he really wants, and mention the chance that we may not hear the hb everytime - and whether that will cause undue stress for the 2 of us...

[Danni]

The chance of you not finding the heartbeat this far along, is very VERY slim. You get to learn where bub lies and you can normally follow his/her movements.

[Maruschke]

The chance of you not finding the heartbeat this far along, is very VERY slim. You get to learn where bub lies and you can normally follow his/her movements.

Heaps of women don't find the heartbeat even this far along, and I think this is what causes so much stress. There is an expectation that it would be super easy to find the heartbeat and it isn't always the case. Again, it depends on what kind of doppler it is and how powerful / effective it is in picking up the bubs heartbeat.

[ladybird11]

I second everything Renstar said...

I bought the same doppler and picked up a heart beat at about 13 weeks with DD. I'm only 9 weeks now so I'm exercising restraint and not bringing the doppler out for another few weeks or so yet - to not freak myself out lol!!

[tenar]

I didn't buy one because when I tried to read up on the safety of them, I got the impression that they are safe when used by an experienced operator, and I would be totally inexperienced. I didn't want to take any risks with it, though I'm happy for the doc/ob/ultrasound technician to do their thing for my regular scans.

As it turns out, I was glad I didn't bother because my placenta is in the front and this makes it harder to hear the baby's heartbeat. At around 16 weeks the OB couldn't find it at all, with her fancy equipment. The ultrasound showed baby was fine, so no worries, just that her heartbeat is obscured so much by all the stuff in the way, and my own pulse going through the blood vessels in my placenta.

Anyway, if you do get one and you have trouble hearing the baby's heartbeat, I wouldn't worry about it at all.

[Visitor8]

I would get one I think they are great, and if it will help your DP feel more intouch with bubs I think the benifits would far outway anything else

[huggabug75]

I done a search on them today through google, and you can actually rent them from about $39 per month...