Fetal Heart Rate Monitor - for Home Use

Hi everyone,

I am after opinions on fetal heart rate monitors.

How good are they?
Are they easy to use?
Are they accurate?
Do they give peace of mind or become an obsession?

My DH is going away for a couple of weeks and I have already had one trip to hospital because I couldn't feel the baby moving and I was thinking that this might be a good panic prevention item that I could have to keep me sane while he is away.

My Ob has also said that @ 28 weeks I should be feeling the baby at least a couple of times between breakfast & lunch, lunch & dinner and in bed - if I don't then I am to go straight to hospital to get checked out.

Should I just talk to him about the monitor?

Thanks everyone.

nic 0 having been through the night from hell, i would say the doppler kept me sane! gremlin is obviously picking up on my stress big time as she is not moving much at all - and for a very active baby, that is damn scary for mummy. twice last night i pulled out the doppler and found her. took a while, but it put my mind at ease. was contemplating it now as she hadn't moved since about 5am, but my bladder is full and i just felt a little boot so i'm ok for a while. definitely keeping an eye on her while i'm so stressy at the mo

yes you should definatly be feeling bub moving alot at 28 weeks...if bub does slow down movement wise...better to be safe..and head off to the hospital (i did quite afew times this last pregnancy!!) felt like a noob BUT i wanted to make sure my littel boy was OK...
if it makes you feel alot better being able to hear bubs HB then by all means get a doppler (you can hire them too)

Nixon, thanks for this thread, because I have been wondering whether we should get one down the track also (and you know how stressy I can be!:redface:).. my only fear was getting obsessed with it, or freaking out if we couldn't find the heartbeat

i was having trouble finding gremlin more than once last night - but it never took more than about a minute of just moving it around as she swaps where she lays every hour or so. if you're alreayd feeling antsy it can make it worse but you have to weigh up whether having to go to the hospy woudl stress you more. i've never not been able to find her, just takes patience...

any brand recommended?

I was just about to ask the same thing.

I'm looking at the 'FetalSounds' fetal HR mon which runs at "Measuring Utrasound frequency: 2.5 MHz ? 0.25 MHz" - which I believe is recommended for a clear sound - rather than just amplifying sound which can be everything from mummy gurggly belly to mum's HR or blood coursing through veins.

Just out of interest where do you buy these from?

I'm looking online at the moment. Will be speaking to my OB next week to see if he can recommend one. I don't want to spend the money on a piece of rubbish.

i got mine from Ebay - was about 200 delivered - some of them have like a single unit that goes on your tummy - mine has a unit with speaker and a probe attached. it has been a godsend lately for us.

I loved mine - from ebay as well, but I could nevr find either of my girls myself - DH always had to find them.

Hi Nic,

Thought this might help you in your quest. The doppler arrived yesterday from Belly Beat (arrived after 1 day of order) and I tried it last night. I placed it a bit too low (as the instruction said) and had some difficulty in detecting the baby. Got both the umbilical cord and the placenta sounding loud. Did eventually get the heart beat. Tried again this morning and placed the probe higher (mid way between pubic hair and belly button) and got the heart beat straight away. I am still experimenting with it but I am happy with it. If you want to hire one of these then I would recommend that you know what a bub's heartbeat should sound like in comparison to everything else, if not you will be very confused.

Good luck in your quest.