Fetal dopplers can pick up on the mother's heartbeat sometimes. Not sure which is which? A good rule of thumb is that if the heartbeat is between 60-80 beats per minute, it's likely your own heartbeat. A fetal heartbeat will likely fall between the 120-180 beats per minute range.
When using a hand held doppler it is possible for there to be some confusion with the mother's own heartbeat and pulsing of the placenta which can be doubled to sound like the baby's heartbeat. This means that when you listen in, you may not be hearing the baby's heartbeat at all and can be falsely reassured.
Whenever you use a doppler, you'll hear a variety of sounds depending on where it's placed. A “whooshing” sound usually indicates either placenta or movement. Some people also describe the noise as similar to that of blowing trees. This should not be mistaken for a baby's heartbeat.
The two different sounds that you hear on the Doppler most likely are your baby's heartbeat and your heartbeat, which is about half as fast as your baby's. The sounds you hear will vary depending on where the doctor places the Doppler monitor.
If you have an electronic fetal heart rate monitor, also known as a fetal Doppler, you can check your baby's heartbeat during your pregnancy. The fetal Doppler gives you an opportunity to connect with your baby by listening to his or her heartbeat. It does not give a medical diagnosis.
Commonly Misinterpretted Sounds
Be cognizant of how hard you are pressing down. Likely Causes: This “whooshing” sound is blood flow in the placenta, which is perfectly normal! Solution: Reposition the monitor to capture the fetal heart rhythm instead. Likely Causes: The fetus has “kicked” or “punched” the doppler.
The risk is in misinterpreting the fetal heart rate.” Baby Dopplers will sense all kinds of movement, whether it's your intestines, the umbilical cord, the placenta or the mother's heart, which is what many moms actually hear when using a fetal heart Doppler.
It's safe to use an at-home fetal doppler one to two times per week for a few minutes. Using the doppler one to two times a week is not a lot of time under an ultrasound machine; you and your baby will be perfectly safe. There isn't medical research to suggest that ultrasounds are harmful.
There are a lot of blood vessels in a pregnant woman's abdomen, the baby's heart beating being just one. The placenta also pulses at the same rate as the heart and the mother's main artery runs across the abdomen and that can also be picked up on a doppler.
Fetal dopplers can pick up on the mother's heartbeat sometimes. Not sure which is which? A good rule of thumb is that if the heartbeat is between 60-80 beats per minute, it's likely your own heartbeat. A fetal heartbeat will likely fall between the 120-180 beats per minute range.
If your placenta is growing on the anterior or front wall of your uterus, the Doppler might only be able to pick up the blood flow through your placenta (essentially your own heartbeat). When this sound is loud, it's harder to pick up the faint sound of a 10-week fetal heartbeat. Again, don't worry.
During pregnancy, the amount of blood circulating around the body increases significantly. More blood is pumped with each heartbeat, making the pulse in the abdominal aorta more noticeable. In rare cases, picking up on your pulse in your stomach can be a sign of something serious.
If you're earlier on, start at your lower abdomen and work your way up, beginning with your pubic bone. Your baby may shift lower into your uterus later in pregnancy. Slow, steady pacing – Maneuvering your Doppler too quickly can make it difficult for the device to find your baby.
Is it safe? As long as you don't use a fetal doppler too often, the device should be perfectly safe. Limit your use to once every other day for about 5 minutes.
You don't need to press down hard with the doppler probe
It is also likely to reduce the quality of the ultrasound gel transmission and cause wastage of the gel. Just touch the probe gently against your skin. If you're indenting the surface of your skin, you're probably pressing too hard.
You must not eat or drink for eight hours before your exam. Water and taking medications is okay. If ultrasound pelvis is also being done, for female patients, please drink 32 oz of water one hour before the scan. You can go to the bathroom to relieve yourself, as long as you keep drinking water.
Home fetal dopplers are not as accurate as doctor appointments. They are made for in-between appointments, so you cannot rely on them as your only source of information. One of the reasons for this is that home fetal dopplers can be of poor quality.
There is no evidence that at-home fetal Dopplers are harmful. However, the heat that they generate can pose a risk to the baby, so it is reasonable to assume that overusing them can cause a problem.
Do not urinate before the exam. Arrive for your exam with a full bladder.
Some pregnant people may be able to hear a heartbeat with a home Doppler device as early as eight weeks into the pregnancy, while others may not hear it until closer to 12 weeks.
They can feel pain at 22 weeks, and at 26 weeks they can move in response to a hand being rubbed on the mother's belly.
I hate to spoil your fun, but there is no correlation between fetal heart rate at any point in pregnancy and the gender of your baby.
Most at-home dopplers are unable to pick up a heartbeat accurately before 18 weeks. It's recommended to wait until at least 25 weeks. Position. If your baby is curled up or away from you, with his back against your back, it might be difficult to hear the heartbeat.