We know how tempting home dopplers are but please don’t use them.

🔸 A heartbeat doesn’t mean baby is well.
Hearing a sound can give dangerous false reassurance when a baby may actually be in distress. The best indicator of wellbeing is always baby’s movements.

🔸 They don’t “hear” the heartbeat.
Home dopplers send ultrasound waves that create a simulated sound. They can easily pick up mum’s pulse, placental flow or other vessels, all of which can mimic a fetal heartbeat.

🔸 Even professionals don’t rely on them.
NICE guidance warns that heart sounds can be misleading, even for trained staff. A heartbeat only tells you the baby is alive in that moment, it does not show if they are well.

🔸 A heartbeat is just a snapshot.
If someone collapsed in the street, you wouldn’t check their pulse and walk away. You’d get help. It’s the same with babies. A heartbeat alone tells us nothing about oxygen levels, placenta function or distress.

🔸 If movements change, seek help immediately.
Waiting until you “can’t find a heartbeat” is too late. Reduced movements are the key sign a baby may need help.

Bonding is important but there are safer ways. If you want siblings or partners to hear the heartbeat, ask your midwife to record it at your next appointment.

 

KEY POINTS

Not manufacturer approved: A really important point is that even the manufacturers do not recommend them for mums. They are intended for medical professionals. The general sale of these devices to women implies they are safe and suitable. 

The Presence of a heartbeat doesn't mean the baby is well: Parents may be falsely reassured when they hear a heartbeat, when actually their baby could be in distress. This could lead to life-threatening delays in seeking medical assistance. The best indicator of fetal wellbeing is always the baby’s movements 

Home dopplers are not microphones: They are not amplifying the sound of your baby’s heartbeat. They are sending ultrasound waves into your body that reflects off moving blood vessels and SIMULATE a sound. 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. There are so many vessels that can simulate the same sound as a fetal heart. 

Not recommended for professionals NICE guidelines even highlight the risks to professionals - “Do not rely solely on the CTG trace for fetal wellbeing. Be aware of limitations and artefacts i.e. doubling of the maternal pulse being recorded as the fetal heart.”

But 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. A person has a heartbeat up until the second they pass away. 

Having a scan or using a doppler only shows a snapshot in time. 

If you saw a person collapsed in the street would you check their pulse and walk away? No, you’d probably call an ambulance because this person is clearly unwell, even though they have a heartbeat. 

It is the same with a baby. If a baby’s movements change, it can be a sign that they are unwell. Just because they have a heartbeat does not mean anything. Everyone has a heartbeat up until the second before they pass away. All a heartbeat tells you is the baby is currently alive, which is the only time something can be done to help a baby in distress.

If you wait until you can’t find a heartbeat it’s too late. Picking up the fetal heartbeat is a snapshot in time – 5 minutes later the heart can stop. It is so important that mums do not use the presence of a heartbeat as a sign their baby is well. NICE guidelines also state - “Auscultation of the fetal heart may confirm that the fetus is alive but is unlikely to have any predictive value and routine listening is therefore not recommended.” Even for trained midwives, this is not a reliable determinant of fetal wellbeing.

Users say they offer bonding, but there are other ways to bond. If siblings or partners want to hear the fetal heart ask your midwife to record it at your next appointment. The risk of using them for ‘fun’ or bonding is the same – hearing a heartbeat is subconsciously reassuring, however much we tell ourselves they won’t be used for reassurance.

The NHS, The Royal College of Midwives and even the FDA (Food and Drug Administration in America) all warn of their dangers. The NHS choices website says home foetal heart monitors “are potentially dangerous to the mother and baby’s health”, The RCM website says: “Expectant mothers have been warned against the use of home fetal Doppler devices over fears that they may give false reassurances to mothers about the health of their baby.” But these aren’t the sites pregnant women are checking. They see a product in a pregnancy shop that makes some very exciting claims. Who wouldn’t be enticed? We can’t blame pregnant women for being drawn in by these devices when they are marketed so cleverly. 

The best we can do is raise awareness of the importance of Baby's movements and discourage the use of home dopplers