Using Pinard instead of Doppler

[onthefly]

My OB just uses a stethescope

[meow]

I was thinking that this afternoon. She had a stethoscope around her neck from doing my BP... why not use that? I think they are WAY too into their doppler...

[Jas]

Oh ok so just never heard of it before juat out of interest what is it about dopplers that you don't like

[meow]

I want to limit my baby's exposure to ultrasound so I don't want to use the doppler unnecessarily (ie. to hear a heartbeat when we can feel the baby kicking). It's also possible that a doppler exposes the baby to more ultrasound than a scan as a scan uses pulses but a doppler sends a constant wave.

[Indadhanu]

Ren... I was told by my midwives that they don't use anything BUT a doppler (I don't like the idea of the constant wave the doppler sends out either)... though I did wonder why they just don't use a stethescope since they have it right there when they do your BP!

Do the hospitals usually have a pinard? Because mine said they didn't!!!!! Or maybe she just didn't know where one was...

[meow]

I'm not sure if they always have a pinard. First time I declined the doppler was 2 days before my scan so I said I'd wait till then for a heartbeat and they left it. Next time the midwife said "Oh, so you want to use the pinard?" and got it off the shelf. I hadn't really considered the pinard- I just didn't want the doppler So from now on when I say no to the doppler I point to the pinard and say I use that but I don't think many of the midwives have even used it before.