Using Pinard instead of Doppler

is anyone else having their baby's heart beat checked with a pinard instead of a doppler?

I'd love to hear how it's working out for you... at my last two midwife appointments they haven't been able to find the baby's heart beat and I think they just really don't know how to use the pinard! :lol: The doppler seems to have taken over- I have to tell them every time I don't use it as they pick it up and start gelling it up without even asking.

I'm not at all concerned about not hearing the heart beat- we can always feel bubba moving around so I don't know why they even bother quite frankly. Just wondering if anyone else has found they often can't detect a heart beat or if it's just my midwives? ;)

Hi

Sorry I'm not any help but I was just wondering what a Pinnard is?

It's a two way cone thingo that can be used like a stethoscope- one side pressed on the belly and the other side for the midwife's ear. So no electronics or ultrasound etc.

My OB just uses a stethescope

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...

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

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.

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...

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 :lol: 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.