Research has found that prolonged heat increases the risk of certain congenital abnormalities and can potentially lead to pregnancy loss. Using ultrasound devices, including at-home Dopplers, can expose the baby to increased heat, and frequent use may be especially dangerous.
At-home fetal Doppler test
The FDA notes that using them too much – without medical supervision – could pose risks to your baby's development.
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.
“When using an app or 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.
The risk of using fetal Dopplers at home is not in the technology. The risk is in misinterpreting the fetal heart rate.”
If you're trying to use your fetal doppler without gel, you may try some coconut oil. Although it's not a widely used alternative, one trial found that it worked just as well as standard gel as a coupling medium in therapeutic ultrasound (a treatment often used in physical therapy).
Limit your use to once every other day for about 5 minutes. Fetal dopplers carry the same risks ultrasounds do, like excessive thermal and physical pressure on Baby, so you can talk to your healthcare provider about specific models if you're concerned.
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.
When in pregnancy do you feel quickening? Your unborn baby will begin moving around 12 weeks of pregnancy, but you probably won't feel it yet. If you've been pregnant before, you may sense quickening by about 16 weeks in pregnancy. However, if this is your first baby, it's common not to feel movement until 20 weeks.
Your Placenta Is in the Way
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.
At 6 weeks gestation, the embryo has a steady heartbeat around 110 beats per minute! Only 22 days after conception or 5 weeks and 1 day gestation, the embryo's heart starts beating. This heartbeat will not stop until the individual dies.
Tachycardia is an abnormally fast heart rate. The normal fetal heart rate is between 120 and 160 beats per minute. Typically, an abnormally fast heart rate is over 200 beats per minute.
Your Pregnant Belly: Third Trimester (Weeks 28 to 40)
By 28 weeks, your uterus—and your bump—has extended well above your belly button, Duke says.
If you are hearing more than one heartbeat, you could either be hearing the same heartbeat in two different locations, or you are pregnant with twins. If you're in the later stages of pregnancy and the two heartbeats are within 10 beats per minute of each other, it's probably just one fetus.
There is no consensus among guidelines on the frequency of repeat ABPI measurements. Ideally, Doppler studies should be repeated every 6–12 months (or earlier if clinically indicated). In practice, the frequency will be guided by local availability and resources.
A few weeks later, at 10 to 12 weeks into pregnancy, a handheld ultrasound device known as a fetal Doppler can be used to hear a baby's heartbeat. Hearing the heartbeat for the first time is, in a word, thrilling. Not hearing it, on the other hand, can be nerve-wracking.
Place a small amount of gel (Doppler gel only) on the probe at the end of the monitor. Then put the probe on your lower abdomen, near your pubic bone. Angle or tilt the probe, keeping contact between your skin and the probe at all times, until you hear a galloping sound — the fetal heart rate.
Getting ready for fetal monitoring depends on if it's external or internal. It also depends on if it's being done late in pregnancy or during labor. For external fetal monitoring during pregnancy with a Doppler, you may need to have a full bladder. There is no restriction of food or drink.
Although not as effective as ultrasound gel, they perform nearly well and still help to produce clear results. Some of the alternatives to ultrasound gel include mineral oil, lotion, vaseline, aloe vera, and others. Many substitutes, on the other hand, are not allowed for use and may be detrimental to the probe.
Before you use your doppler, consider that some women report hearing the heartbeat easier in the morning since that's when the belly is typically the least bloated. Using the doppler while you have a full bladder can also make the heartbeat easier to hear.