REVISED POLL - Doppler used at every OB/GYN visit for heat beat

[SilverMoon010]

Take the poll

[cat13]

I'm seeing a homebirth midwife as well as an OB office for shadow care. I make the OB office people use the fetoscope and use the dopplar at my mw's office.... I'm doing double visits so I don't feel the need to do dopplar so often.

[Abraisme]

I use the doplar until the hb can be easily heard with the fetoscope. 

[Baby_Cakes]

I had no problem with the doppler at all, but once my mw could get the heart beat with the fetoscope, we just did that instead.

[Magali]

 I was on the fence but was talked into the Doppler by my doctor at every visit .

But, I only had 3 prenatal visits because I was mostly UPing.  I did bring my fetoscope and my Dr tried it but thought it was hilarious and didn't know how to use it.  So she asked me if she could use the doppler quickly.

[nia82]

Nope, I didn't allow it. I do not see medical necessity in prenatal doppler use in normal pregnancy. We used a fetoscope and the doppler throughout labor. I was actually kicked out of my first obgyn practice for not wanting the doppler (she said: it is standard of care and if you refuse that I cannot see you as a patient.). I switched to a freestanding birthing center and nobody had an issue with me not wanting this. I refuse about every treatment that is not necessary and has no clear medical advantage. Better be safe than sorry cause you never know.

[SilverMoon010]

Originally Posted by Magali 

 I was on the fence but was talked into the Doppler by my doctor at every visit .

But, I only had 3 prenatal visits because I was mostly UPing.  I did bring my fetoscope and my Dr tried it but thought it was hilarious and didn't know how to use it.  So she asked me if she could use the doppler quickly.

This is funny! I could see this happening to me.  I am curious to see if my doctors actually have a fetoscope in their practice.  If not, I am thinking of buying my own but am wondering if they would (or even knew how to) actually use it!

BTW, what does UPing mean?
 

[Smokering]

I didn't have strong objections to the doppler, but figured I might as well minimise exposure. So we didn't hear the heartbeat until, what, 26 weeks? when the fetoscope kicked in (I had an anterior placenta, so maybe it was later for me than average). I had had an ultrasound by then, though, so I knew the baby had a heartbeat. :p After that we usually went with the fetoscope, but my MW forgot a couple of times and used the doppler, and I was OK with that. She also used it during labour, with my permission.

At one prenatal visit the trainee midwife listened for the heartbeat; she'd never used a fetoscope before, and thought it was the coolest thing ever. That was neat. :) My MW had a nice wooden one. My mother, who was a midwife back in the 70s, said that in a pinch they sometimes used an empty toilet roll tube as a makeshift fetoscope...

BTW, what does UPing mean?

Unassisted Pregnancy; where a woman does her own prenatal care, kind of like UC (Unassisted Childbirth).

[Jaimee]

It cracks me up and makes me a bit annoyed that doctors think the fetascope is hilarious and can't figure out how to use it.  Ummm... it's like a stethoscope only you put it on the uterus and listen for the baby's heart beat.  It's not hard.  My midwife would identify the baby's position based on external palpitations and then place the scope exactly where the heartbeat should be and got it every time no problem.  Just another example of doctors reliant on technology instead of taking a little bit more time to hone a good old fashioned skill.  I understand that during labor the fetascope can be more difficult to use when the uterus is contracting and the mother doesn't want to lay still long enough (also it can't be done in water).  But otherwise? Come on doctors!

My mw had a double one where she and someone else could listen simultaneously.  It's really neat.  That reminds me, I need to call and leave a message for the midwife to bring her fetascope into the office for my appointment next week.

Here I am during my last pregnancy (32 weeks) listening to the heart beat myself.

[purplerose]

How much harder is a fetoscope to use than a stethoscope? I figured it was the same, I've never used a fetoscope but we use the stethoscope all the time at home to listen to the baby's heart. Once the baby's big enough we've never had a problem finding it. I have noticed this baby does NOT like the doppler/ultrasound at all. But when we use the stethocope the baby beats the crap out of it! I guess it doesn't like anything but our hands on my belly :)

[Jaimee]

My understanding is that the fetoscope is EASIER to use than a stethoscope b/c it's easier to angle and press firmly into the abdomen, which is necessary to hear well, and I believe the shape offers better acoustics.  Often you'll see fetascopes come with a little bar to rest your forehead on, which I guess applies firmer or more even pressure?  You can also get ones that have special noise cancelling features to block out the background noise from the cord/placenta, which are more effective earlier in pregnancy and during labor than standard fetoscopes.  And lastly there are "horns" which are often made out of wood that don't have the tubing/ear pieces of a standard fetoscope.

[MarineWife]

I can't really answer the poll because I do allow a doppler to be used at every prenatal with my MW but I don't believe it's use has no risks. My baby definitely reacts to it because he moves away every time and makes it difficult for my MWs to get a heart rate. I also have a home doppler that I used quite often in my late 1st and early 2nd trimester before I started to feel movement consistently. I tried a fetoscope with my last pg but never could consistently get a heart beat. I need the added reassurance of being able to easily hear my baby's heart beat whenever I can because I've had numerous miscarriages. I decided that, for me, the emotional and stress-reducing benefit of that outweighed any minimal risk. I've also gone through 3 previous pregnancies with regular doppler use and no problems to my babies from it.

[purplerose]

If I had a scary history I'd have no problem using doppler more often, either. I had a couple of nightmares about this pregnancy and the midwife came out and spent a few minutes to find the heartbeat with her doppler. I was only around 9 weeks or so and it wasn't easy to find but she stuck with it. I felt this one and the last one move quite early so I didn't have as long to worry.

[SilverMoon010]

This is a great poll guys! Even though "Yes" is in the right running majorly, it's interesting to see all of the different views and mixed responses.

[1love4ever]

My Dr. did not even have a fetoscope so she tried her stethescope but could hear nothing so she ended up not even listening to the heartbeat last time I was in.  I have only had 2 prenatals with my midwife but next time I am going to request a fetoscope...

[new2this]

Doppler but I don't see it as a big deal. 

[amberskyfire]

After reading an article by Sarah Buckley, MD entitled "Ultrasound Scans: Cause for Concern," I opted out of all non-emergency ultrasound including doppler. Some mothers have ignored the entire article simply because the author states in one section that the incidence of autism rose with the incidence of ultrasound use and it *could possibly* have something to do with it (which we now know is higher simply because it was reported more), but the article is from 2000, before some of the more recent research and knowledge on autism came out. I think she makes some great points aside from that.

http://www.sarahbuckley.com/ultrasound-scans-cause-for-concern/

I also read somewhere else that the frequency of ultrasound used in pregnancy is the same as that used in clinical studies to temporarily sterilize men. I can't say if this is true or not and don't have that info anymore, but it was something else for me to just consider if it were. I do know that ultrasound causes sterility in men, but I don't know at what frequency. There is no way I am using that on a developing baby.