Baby Heartbeat Monitors for Early Pregnancy
There is nothing quite as special as feeling a growing baby inside your womb and sensing the movements of a new life inside you.
However, even before you can sense that movement early in the pregnancy , being able to hear the heartbeat and know that everything is fine with the baby is incredible and can give you an incredible peace of mind.
This peace of mind is priceless, and especially if you experienced a miscarriage before or you are having some signs of miscarriage and are worried that there may be something wrong with your pregnancy.
Having experienced early miscarriage myself, when I got pregnant the second time I was really worried that the second pregnancy will end the same way. That is when I decided to rent a fetal Doppler or baby heartbeat monitor to be able to listen to my baby’s heartbeat and make sure everything is fine with the pregnancy.
Personally, I would wholeheartedly recommend the use of a baby heart monitor because I know the amount of pressure and stress it can take off of a mother.
Baby Heartbeat Monitor allows you to listen to your unborn baby
For me, renting a baby heart monitor for the first trimester of my pregnancy was a great comfort.
Plus, in addition to the feeling of reassurance that my baby is OK, hearing the sound of his heart beating was simply AMAZING!
You can know your baby’s heart sounds before birth and form a special bond with her/him. It will also allow you to share the joy of pregnancy with your spouse, family and friends.
I don’t remember exactly which brand I used, but renting one was really simple.I made some research on the Internet, found a few sites, picked one, placed my order, and the monitor was shipped to me within a couple of days.
- Hear and record baby’s movements, heartbeat or hiccups.
- Listen to the sound of your baby with your spouse, family and friends.
- Measures heartbeat of baby
- Some monitors allow you to listen to baby as early as 8 to 10 weeks into your pregnancy, some can be used after the 12th week of pregnancy, still other allow you to hear baby’s movements from about the 21st week of pregnancy
- Some models provide visual feedback of the heartbeat on the special digital heart rate display
- Some models of baby heartbeat monitors provide the ability to record heartbeats on your computer. When I was pregnant five years ago, I rented just a simple model without such capability, and I simply recorded my son’s heartbeat on tape; but I guess it will be really cool to be able to make a digital recording and share it over the computer with my family.
- You can also record your own heartbeat to soothe your newborn.
- Small, lightweight design makes it easy to take with you when you travel.
- The monitors require batteries.
How does the baby heartbeat monitor work?
Baby heartbeat monitors are instruments that provide a non-invasive way to detect and measure a baby heart rates during pregnancy.
The way a baby heartbeat monitor works is using the so-called “doppler effect”, that refers to the variation of the sound pitch as the source moves toward or away from the listener. A good example would be the sound of a car or a train driving by.
Baby heartbeat monitors use two crystals placed on the transducer (which will be pressed against your belly), one of which emits ultrasonic waves, and the other detects the waves. The waves reach the moving tissue of the heart, and detect the movement of flesh, and bounce back with a slightly different tone. The tones are then amplified, so that whoever wishes to listen, can hear the sounds of an unborn baby, including the beating of the heart.
Selecting and Using a Baby Heart Monitor
There are a variety of baby heart monitors available today for purchase. You may also choose to rent a monitor for a short period of time.
This is what I chose to do, as I only wanted the monitor for the early pregnancy weeks, when I could not feel the bby inside me yet. Once he started moving, feeling him inside me was sufficient reassurance for me, so I returned the monitor as I didn’t need it any more.
Most baby heart monitors are very easy to use. Here are the steps you will need to take to use them:
1. You will need to buy special gel that you will spread on your abdomen prior to using the monitor.
2. Once you turn the monitor on, you will need to press the transducer gently against your abdomen and search for heartbeat.
Sometimes you will find it right away, sometimes it may be a little tricky. The baby heartbeat is very fast – much faster than adult’s heartbeat. It sounds a little hoof beats of a galloping horse.
Popular Models of Baby Heartbeat Monitors
When shopping online you will find that there are a wide range of baby heart monitors that you can select from. Do some research and choose the one that will work best for you.
To ensure the best experience, check that the baby heart monitor you purchase has a probe that fits easy and comfortably in your hand.
Also, you should try to choose a unit that uses an ultrasound frequency that has little chance of running into interference with other signals in your household. 3GHz is the most common frequency used by hospitals and clinics, so you may want to consider purchasing a baby heart monitor that uses this frequency.
Below I present just a few types of popular models. The prices range from 25 to 150 US dollars, typically the cheaper models work later in the pregnancy.
You can rent a decent OB quality doppler monitor for about $20-40 per month.
The BellyBeats Fetal Doppler is a popular brand that provides a few different types of monitors. It can detect baby’s heartbeat as early as 8 to 10 weeks into your pregnancy. Its pre-angled probe makes it quicker and easier to locate your baby’s heartbeat. You determine your baby’s heart rate by simply counting the beats of your baby’s heart for 10 seconds and multiplying the number of beats by 6 to get heartbeats per minute.
The BellyBeats Digital Fetal Doppler Baby Heart Monitor is the same as the BellyBeats Fetal Doppler Baby Heart Monitor with the added convenience of a digital display. You do not have to count the heartbeats to determine your baby’s heart rate, as it calculates the heart rate for you and gives you a digital readout. It will detect heartbeat as early as 8 to 10 weeks into your pregnancy.
The Babycom Home Doppler Fetal Heartbeat Monitor is a state-of-the art fetal monitor that can be used from the 12th week of pregnancy.
Sonotrax Basic LCD Fetal Doppler Baby Heart Monitor w/ 3MHz Probe (from Amazon) A 3mhz probe is useful in picking up a heartbeat in the early weeks of the first trimester (usually around 10-12 weeks) and can be used throughout pregnancy. Sonotrax Basic is a high performance model with FHR digital LCD display. Has audio output through speakers, also can be connected with earphone.
Bebe Sounds Prenatal Heart Listener allows you to hear and record baby’s movements, heartbeat or hiccups. Can be used as from 5th month of pregnancy. The kit includes the recording cable.
Deluxe Prenatal Heart Listening System offers high sound quality and sensitivity. It safely and easily allows you to hear baby’s movements from about the 21st week of pregnancy (and, unlike ultrasound, emits no energy to you or baby). Kit includes sensor, belt, headphones, instructional CD and instructions. There’s even a stereo cable so you can record each miraculous sound.
Baby’s Heart Beat!- Not my video, but almost made me cry!
Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
I will write more about nutrition pregnancy and beyond soon, as I feel I only scratched the surface.
In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments – leave them for me below in the Comments section.
Popular search terms:
- baby heart in womb ringtones
- fetal doppler movement
- can i buy something that allows me to hear my babys heartbeat
- will my digital fetal heart rate monitor display a heartbeat even if i can hear it
- my babys heartbeat kit
- monitor to listen to your babies heartbeat
- monitor to hear baby inside belly
- Listen to your babies unborn heartbeat instrument
- listen to fetal heartbeat online
- listen to baby in the womb monitor