Doppler dangers!?!?!?!?!

[keepontrying]

Doppler Dangers!?!?!?!
I went for a scan today (im having the weekly due to my history) at ST Marys Hopsital in London which has a top fertility and early pregnancy unit.
My scan went well (thank god!) but when i asked the heart rate and to hear it the scanner told me that they do not use doppler scanning due to the fact it has a slight heating effect internally and is dangerous to baby!

Now I have found this...

://www.ehow.com/about_5347776_dangers-fetal-doppler.html

Has anyone else heard of this?

 

[Tacey]

I have heard about that, and also about ultrasounds maybe being of concern too. I think dopplers are considered worse as they are more intense. The evidence is sketchy both ways as far as I can tell, but I consider them medical procedures, and will have them if I feel they are necessary. As much as I'd like to have lots of scans to see the baby and hear the heartbeat regularly, unless there's reason to do so, I'm going to avoid them.

It's yet another of those difficult questions we have to decide what's best for us and our children!

 

[sophie c]

when i looked into it before i started using one i read that theres nothing proving any harmful outcomes but not to overuse it incase?? i used them on both my girls weekly, no harm done i think its personak preference until more research is done xx

 

[mummy2be123]

I used a doppler everyday from 13-14 weeks to 20 weeks when i felt my son move and he turned out fine and with this pregnancy ill use the doppler daily until i can feel baby move

 

[3boys]

dopplers have been used for over 40 years and there is no evidence to prove they do any harm.

 

[harrybaby]

I think this sits in the same box as "mobile phones cause cancer" we dont have enough evidence but dont over-use. Personally I dont like the idea of using a doppler everyday - hence why I dont own one. Each to their own.

 

[singers_love]

I think I am going to steer clear, just because It would freak me out if I suddenly couldnt hear anything! But Im a panic-er!

 

[xdxxtx]

Oh please. They're fine. People just like to freak us out while we're pregnant. It's like a hobby or something.

 

[keepontrying]

Oh please. They're fine. People just like to freak us out while we're pregnant. It's like a hobby or something.

The point im making is that I was told this by a well known fertility centre! Thats why it concerned me, they simply refused to use the equipment
x

 

[IGL]

Personally, I'm fairly conservative when it comes to medical intervention - I know it can be really valuable in the right situations, but equally I'm not the kind of person to pop a painkiller every time I get a headache.

For me, the fact that I just don't know what it's like for the baby to undergo scans, doppler etc means I want to really limit how much of that I do. So I'll have my two standard UK scans at 12 and 20 weeks and I'll be grateful for the information (and sweet pictures!) it gives me, but I don't want to potentially hassle my baby more. Plus, as has been said, I'd be terrified if I had a doppler and one day baby decided to hide or something - I'm totally a panicker in that regard! It wouldn't be good.

But I'm not judging other people for it. I know this is just something that I personally I am cautious about.

And I guess there *could* be health concerns? It's relatively modern technology so not thoroughly understood - I guess it just depends where you draw the line generally. It seems silly that we would worry about baths being too warm and not worry about waves which heat the foetus, but maybe there's just too much worrying full stop. Ultimately you draw the line where you feel comfortable and that applies to medical professionals too..

 

[3boys]

they have been used for over 40years so I wouldnt class them as "new" technology. Plus your fertility centre didnt want to use the doppler part of the scan machine because it would of been extra sound waves on top of the scan part of the machine. A doppler uses a frequency of 2-3 MHz whereas a scan uses much more so most hospitals dont see the point of using the extra sound waves to hear babies hb when they have just seen it. But on maternity wards dopplers are used several times a day on patients to monitor babies hb.

 

[Charlie_x]

I've only heard that dopplers were dangerous on this forum no where else what so ever, my hospital and midwives still use them etc

 

[littleblonde]

The doppler on a scanning machine is differwent to the handheld dopplers we use at home and the midwife uses. The doppler on a scan not only lets you hear the heartbeat but it brings up graths and shows more on the scan machine.