Doppler safety?

Question

Is it really safe using a doppler. How many times a day can I use it? I've heard they're fine, but my husband's paranoid about something happening to the baby because of using it. Thanks

Answer 1

Here is what I found when I googled "Fetal Ultrasound Dangers"..Dopplers are in the Ultrasound family, and should be used with caution..

**Ultrasound, sonograms, and dopplers use high frequency sound waves to produce an image of the baby on a viewing screen or amplify the baby's heartbeat so it can be heard more easily. NO STUDIES have been done which prove the safety of these devices, and the American Medical Association recommends AGAINST unnecessary exposure.

"Unnecessary Exposure" includes the use of ultrasound to:

1. Confirm the sex of the baby.

2. Assess gestational age (how many weeks old the baby is).

3. Assess fetal size and growth.

4. Confirm multiple pregnancy.

5. Determine fetal presentation (the position of the baby in the womb).


Many health care professionals still use ultrasound for these purposes anyway, even though the American Medical Association has not approved its use for these purposes. With the exception of confirming the sex of the baby, all these pieces of information can be obtained with hands-on skills. A fetoscope or stethoscope can detect the baby's heartbeat without the dangers of ultrasound.

According to the World Health Organization and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report, "It is not clear at this time whether ultrasound fetal monitoring is beneficial to the mother or fetus in terms of pregnancy outcome...If there is no generally acknowledged benefit to the monitoring, there is no reason to expose patients to increased cost and risk. The question of benefit has not yet been resolved...and the potential for delayed effects has been virtually ignored."

In other words, Ultrasound technology carries potential risks that have not yet been evaluated, yet many doctors are telling women that there is no risk.

Having an ultrasound is NOT essential to a healthy pregnancy. However, most doctors are trained to use expensive technology and NOT trained to use hands-on skills.

Before you allow an ultrasound to be done on you, do some research, thoroughly question your healthcare provider about safety as well as the value of the information that would be received. Don't be afraid to refuse the test if you are not comfortable with the information you have discovered. It is your constitutional right to refuse any tests you do not want.

To give you some means of comparison, I offer this analogy. Have you seen a woman with an extremely high voice break a glass by singing an extremely high pitched note? That is an example of what just ONE relatively slow sound wave can do. Ultrasound technology is based upon ultra high-frequency sound waves, which bombard the child in the womb at an extremely high rate of speed. If one slow sound wave from a woman's voice can break a glass, what can super high frequency sound waves do to your child? Ultrasound waves in laboratory experiments have been known to damage chromosomes, produce internal cellular heat which damages cells, retard the normal development of cells, and many other phenomenon.



Research That Has Been Done On Ultrasound Technology

Newnham, J.P., Evans, S.F., Michael, C.A., Stanley, F.J., & Landau, L. I. (1993). Effects of Frequent Ultrasound During Pregnancy: A Randomized Controlled Trial. The Lancet, 342(Oct.9), 887-891.

A study of over 1400 women in Perth, Western Australia compared pregnant mothers who had ultrasound only once during gestation with mothers who had five monthly ultrasounds from 18 weeks to 38 weeks. They found significantly higher intrauterine growth restriction in the intensive ultrasound group. These mothers gave birth to lower weight babies.

The researchers concluded that prenatal ultrasound imaging and Doppler flow exams should be restricted to clinically necessary situations. This recommendation comes at a time when ultrasound during prenatal visits has become increasingly popular and serves as a kind of entertainment feature of office check-up visits.

Answer 2

I rented a physician grade doppler while pregnant with my son and with my daughter. I checked with my OB/GYN before using it and also researched online and asked the company that rents it. It is considered perfectly safe for daily use. I actually used mine at least 5 times a day. I lost pregnancies prior to my 2 successful pregnancies so I checked the heartbeats alot to reassure myself that everything was fine. I rented mine from babybeat.com. My children are 5years and 3 years now and are perfectly healthy children. It is just fine, so go ahead and use it. Sometimes you can even hear your baby hiccupping on the doppler. It is very fun and a bonding experience to be able to listen to the sounds from the womb. Good luck and tell your husband to relax !

Answer 3

I guess they are safe, I mean they sell a cheaper version at WAL-MART called Bebe Sounds (really cute and good for the price) and I've heard of people strapping that to their belly and listening to it all day. As for the rental doppler, they wouldn't rent them out if they weren't safe.

But unless you have that kind of money to WASTE on a rented doppler I wouldn't get it. I mean you don't NEED to hear the baby's heart beat every second of the day (no offence). I wanted it rent one because I thought it would be fun, my fiance talked me out of it because we don't have the money and it isn't nessary. I plan on buying the Bebe Sounds one with the next baby. I think it cost like 20 to 40 dollars. A lot cheaper then one weeks rental of a doppler!

Answer 4

I used one with the aid of my being pregnant to have peace of suggestions, and that i ask my Dr, the comparable question and he pronounced that's no longer a concern in any respect, and likely you should use it a pair of cases an afternoon and it won't harm something, because of the fact it releases a very small quantity of potential ( or despite it is that releases), so do no longer concern, and listening to your unborn coronary heart beat is the main beautyful sound interior the full international, i could genuinely recommend you to recorded like I did, so it is going to likely be with you perpetually, or perhaps although my son replace into born 4 months in the past I nonetheless want to hearken to it, congrats on your being pregnant and luxuriate in!