I'm debating the idea of renting a doppler for the last 4 months of my pregnancy. I'm pretty sure this has been discussed before in previous threads, but I would love to hear opinions from everyone on whether they have tried it, considered it, or decided against it.

I have no idea how easy they are to use, and whether it would cause more stress than it took away.

Thanks
Cath

I didn't - just thought it would be too stressful and would be totally obsessed by it. Having said that I was lucky enough to have a baby on board that was very active. I used to do a kick count (would time how long it took to get 10 kicks) after dinner each night (and at other times if I was stressed). If I stopped and laid down and concentrated I'd normally start feeling movements pretty quickly. Also when I woke up in the night I'd look at the clock and make myself wait 5 minutes before panic'ing because otherwise I'd think I hadn't felt movements for ages and it'd really been 2 minutes.

George died because his heart rate was too fast (for some unknowable reason). By the time we caught it they surmised it had been going on for at least a week or two and during that time his heart began to fail and he developed hydrops. The hydrops (accumulation of fluid in the body) made it impossible to get therapeutic levels of the cardiac medication in his system to slow his heart rate down.

Had we caught his rapid heart when it started and before the hydrops developed, in all likelihood the medication would have worked. He would probably be alive now. So a doppler it is for us (should be here any day).

But I can honestly say that I don't think I will be obsessed with using it. Probably once a day, I imagine. I just feel like it will give me some peace of mind knowing that this baby's heart is struggling in between visits to the OB.

I just feel like it will give me some peace of mind knowing that this baby's heart is struggling in between visits to the OB.

SHould read "this baby's heart isN'T struggling in between visits to the OB."

I don't want a doppler, and I got rather frustrated on my blog because it seemed for a while like all anyone said in my comments was 'why don't you get a doppler?' I know that for some people they are a sanity-saver, but not for me. Partly because before this pregnancy the only experience I had of someone using one was the midwife in my last pregnancy trying to find my baby's heartbeat and hearing only silence. But partly because even when my stress and anxiety were at their height (and they were pretty bad) I was well aware that *for me* (and I'm definitely an oddity round here) getting reassurance in the form of a doppler (or for that matter a scan) every time I got stressed would reinforce the idea that there was actually something wrong that needed medical attention and that I could only be reassured by it being demonstrated that everything was actually OK.

A long time ago, when I split up with my then-boyfriend, I stopped drinking alcohol, because I was scared that if I did so at that time and in that frame of mind I would end up an alcoholic. I think for me dopplers or scans could easily have become a similar addiction.

As it happens my placenta is anterior and when I finally let my midwife listen for the heartbeat last week (I'd been too scared to let her try before that) she found it quite difficult to find, even at 22 weeks. So I'm very glad that I'd already decided against it because a hard-to-find heartbeat and a stressed B would have made for an entirely bad combination.

But - for some people they are an absolutely necessity. I know that some people on here wouldn't have been able to get through an entire pregnancy without one. I am really glad that they are available for those who want them. They're just not for me.

I have one that was a gift from a friend - we were on the fence too - and i'm really glad I have it.

Like B, I'm terrified all I'll hear is silence again. It really really scares me, but my mantra this pregnancy is
1. There is nothing I can do to change anything
2. It is statistically unlikely that this baby will die too
3. If this baby dies, see point #1.

That said, I texted my MW today because the bean was suddenly quiet and I was vulnerable. Waiting through some kick-counts helped, but if the doppler had been handy I would have used it.

So - the doppler. We use it about once every 2 weeks, and it helps. I am VERY glad we have it, because even if we couldn't find the heartbeat, we would at least know that escalating the issue is the right thing to do, even if we're over-reacting. No one is going to judge a baby-loss parent on being somewhat paranoid.

It's a fine line and it is very individual. I got one while I was pregnant with Gabriel, following 3 miscarriages. I found the h/b around 11 weeks - weeks before my midwife did. I was afraid I would be obsessive with it, but I wasn't. After a couple of minutes of reassurance, I put it away. It was a total godsend when I had my early bleeding episodes. They kept me calm between ultrasounds, because we knew he was fine in there. Some of our best memories were chasing him across my belly with the doppler, just laying there, listening.

We had a monitor that gave a digital readout as well, which helped during the times we couldn't get a clear sound. But really after 14 weeks, it wasn't hard for us.

At the same time, if I'd had the experience of expecting to hear a h/b and didn't - it would be different. I won't say I never had a freak out when I couldn't find it right away. I know I had tears at some point. But the reassurance we had so outweighed it.

I won't hesitate to use it again if we get pregnant, though I'll probably ask my husband to keep it hidden until we've heard the h/b on doppler at the doc's first, to avoid a situation wherein it's too early and I freak out.

I considered getting a doppler during this pregnancy for that time period right before I could feel this baby kick. But I decided against it because in my heart I know that a heartbeat alone means nothing. A baby can breathe and still have suffered a cord injury that has rendered it basically brain dead, like Addison did. I look back and know that if I had a doppler with her, I wouldn't have gone to the hospital when I did--when I didn't feel her moving like she should have been. It would have given me a false sense of security (even if sometimes that's all we need to keep our sanity) and I wouldn't have taken the appropriate action. But I do intimately know the stress and anxiety and constant near-panic feeling, being only 3 weeks away from my c-section date. I certainly wouldn't blame anyone for getting and using one, but just know that it doesn't tell the whole story of what's going on in there.

My experience has been similar to Rebecca's. For us, a good strong heartbeat all the way through labour masked the fact that our daughter Salome was dying, so a strong heartbeat in his current pregnancy would in itself is very little comfort to me. I'd have to have an US machine here at our house, and magically acquire the capacity to use it, for us to get any reassurance like that.

And similarly to B, I think my personality + a dopler + these ongoing health risks for this pregnancy would be a bad combination. Instead I am trying (sometimes sucessfully, often not) to knowingly live in the risk, if you know what I mean. But hey, horses for courses and for some babyloss mammas a dopler at home is a great option.

I had a tiny doppler for Freddie because I had nameless fears about him (which turned out to be correct really, I guess). I was convinced he would die because I needed him so much.

It kept me sane. It didn't save him of course but it did keep me sane hen he went quite. And I had an anterior placenta and could find him easily, but I've listened to 4 others via a midwife, so I suppose I was practised.

Now... on the last day, he felt quiet and I listened. His heartbeat was there so I stayed home. When I got to hospital it was still fine and so I laboured and then he was born with hypoxia, despite a fine heartbeat throughout what must have been several hours of trauma.

Maybe if i had only thought he was quiet, panicked and turned up in hospital in a different frame of mind, things might have been different, but I don't think so.

I don't think a doppler at home can 'often' save a life - for me it was just about not having hysterics every time I didn't get a kick for a while - which happened a lot.

If I ever get pregnant again, it will go everywhere with me.

Thank you all for your very real and honest advice on what worked for you and why. I know it is a very personal decision, and one I have not yet resolved. I'll be chatting to my doc, my midwife and my obs over the next 2 weeks to get their take on it. Then see how I feel. xxx

For me, I found it helpful. It was a quick reassurance that he was alive. I also did kick counts twice daily, which I found more reassuring since decreased fetal movement was a big indicator of Sam's distress before he died. It's a personal choice for sure, but for me, it helped a lot..

I have been a stranger here...and I'm not pregnant. But this post really spoke to me. I lost a twin and was still pregnant with a live twin last year in January. I had no idea that my lost twin had any issues. I did use a doppler for this purpose...and this may sound ridiculously dumb, but it was what I needed....I needed to know - in the privacy of my own home - not the cold table to my peri's office if my other twin was alive or not. So, it was more about if she was going to die (I know, a real upper) finding out privately, and not about reassuring me that she was going to live. Fortunately, she did live, and all the times I checked her (which was sometimes a few times a day and sometimes not so often) her little heart was pattering away. I found it the most comforting before I went to sleep (as they say most stillborns die while moms are sleeping) and when I woke up in the morning. Once I got to the end of the pregnancy, she was so active I found I didn't use it unless she had a long quiet period.

I'll also put out there that the angelcare monitor (for once they are born) to help prevent SIDS or heart issues has been extraorindarily helpful for me as the fear of her just dying did not easily go away just because she wasn't in me anymore.

I hope you find what works best for you. Many hugs, Eve

It's funny how different we all are Eve. I would hate to find out my baby had died at home, in a place I had to be every day. I'd far rather find out elsewhere, far far away.

I've been thinking about the angelcare monitor too. I think my husband's quite dismayed as he had hoped that I will be calmer and less scared once the baby is born. But... I think I will be... but sometimes babies just stop breathing. And I'd rather have a safety net than spend the rest of time cursing myself (and, to be honest, him) if anything did go wrong.

It's nice to hear from you. Hope all is well?