Doctors Warn Against Using Home Doppler Device Fetal Heart Monitors Instead of Seeking Medical Help

Twice in one year, doctors have published articles in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) warning against the overuse of Doppler device fetal heart monitors at home. Some women are using home fetal heart monitors to reassure themselves of the health of their unborn baby after noticing a decrease in fetal movement instead of seeking medical help and this can lead to tragic consequences.

Doppler Device Fetal Heart Monitors: False Reassurance
The first BMJ article, published on August 18, 2009, told of a 27-year-old woman who was 32 weeks pregnant. After noticing a decrease in fetal movement, the woman used her home Doppler device fetal heart monitor to listen to the baby's heartbeat and reassured herself everything was fine. After two days, she went to the hospital. Tests showed the baby was in distress and doctors performed a cesarean section. The baby spent eight weeks in the special care baby unit with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (damage to the nervous system due to lack of oxygen) and intraventricular hemorrhage (bleeding in the spaces of the brain containing cerebral spinal fluid).

The second BMJ article, published on November 5, 2009, tells a similar story, but with a much sadder ending. A 34-year-old woman who was 38 weeks pregnant with her first child noticed a decrease in fetal movement on a Friday. She used her home fetal heart monitor over the weekend to reassure herself the baby was fine. On the following Monday, she appeared at the hospital saying she was unable to detect the baby's heartbeat. An ultrasound scan showed the baby had died.

In both cases, the doctors were concerned by the fact the mother had delayed seeking medical help due to the false reassurance she received from the sounds heard on the Doppler device fetal heart monitor.

Doppler Device Fetal Heart Monitors: A Warning
The doctors involved with these cases warn the use of home Doppler device fetal heart monitors should only be used for entertainment purposes. Understanding the sounds heard on a fetal heart rate monitor takes training and experience. People who do not have this training may mistakenly interpret the sounds of blood flow through the placenta or the mother's pulse as a healthy fetal heartbeat.

The doctors further advise women to trust their own instincts in regards to fetal movement and seek medical assistance when they are concerned there is a problem.

"Mothers do seem to log, perhaps subconsciously, the frequency of their child's movements," wrote Dr. Abhijoy Chakladar in the comments section of the BMJ website. "Our intention was to illustrate the potential limitations of 'evidence based practice' and, to highlight the importance placed on maternal subjective perception and/or concerns by obstetric services in detecting fetal compromise. We understand that the need to seek advice from maternity services if there is a perceived reduction in fetal movements should be standard advice to all expectant parents." Dr. Chakladar is from the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, part of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, UK, and co-author of the second BMJ article.

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Additional Source:
British Medical Journal (BMJ):
Press Release: Renewed warning over use of home fetal heart monitors