The two pieces of equipment just can’t compare.īut putting all that to one side for a moment and just for arguments sake, let’s say these home dopplers pick up the heartbeat perfectly and the mum can pick it out flawlessly, what does that tell us? Absolutely nothing.īaby Evie, stillborn after mum was reassured by a home doppler. I would compare it by saying it would be like checking your friend’s heartbeat with a Peppa Pig stethoscope rather than going to a doctor. If that was the case, the NHS could save a fortune buying home dopplers instead of the high-quality equipment that they do purchase. A £30 device from Amazon does not operate to the same high standard, and a YouTube tutorial can’t possibly hope to offer you the same education and skill that a midwife has. Midwives train for 3 years to be able to differentiate these sounds using equipment costing upwards of £400. doubling of the maternal pulse being recorded as the fetal heart.” Be aware of limitations and artefacts i.e. NICE guidelines even highlight the risks to professionals - “Do not rely solely on the CTG trace for fetal wellbeing.

There are so many vessels that can simulate the same sound as a fetal heart. 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. There are a lot of blood vessels in a pregnant woman's abdomen, the baby’s heart beating being just one. They are sending ultrasound waves into your body that reflects off moving blood vessels and SIMULATE a sound. They are not amplifying the sound of your baby’s heartbeat.

The most important message we try to get across to pregnant women is that home dopplers are not microphones. The best indicator of fetal wellbeing is always the baby’s movements and this is what we should be focusing on – not these cheap imitations of medical equipment. This could lead to life-threatening delays in seeking medical assistance. The most significant risk of using a home doppler is that mums may be falsely reassured when they hear a heartbeat, when actually their baby could be in distress. The general sale of these devices to women implies they are safe and suitable. They are intended for medical professionals. But that was before I was aware of the risks they pose.Ī really important point is that even the manufacturers do not recommend them for mums. I completely understand the appeal of home dopplers, if they had been around when I was pregnant I probably would have bought one. Mums-to-be who use them are often against it and think I am being a killjoy. Midwives, doctors, healthcare professionals, and maybe most significantly, many bereaved mothers are in favour of the ban. Opinion on this tends to be quite polarised. The aim was to regulate/ban of the sale of home dopplers on the consumer market. In 2017 we launched an awareness campaign which ran alongside a petition. While progress is being made, there is one obstacle that just keeps getting bigger. Written by Kicks Count CEO, Elizabeth Hutton:Īt Kicks Count we have been working for many years to try to reduce the UK’s stillbirth and neonatal death rate, which is the 3rd worst in the developed world. Stillbirth and neonatal Death Prevention Charity

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Handheld fetal heart doppler