At-home fetal monitors seem to be all the rage. Are these safe to use, and is this something you would recommend?
Alright, so I want to start by saying I understand why mommies-to-be are drawn to this. You hear a heartbeat, and you feel like it's reassuring, and it's a bonding experience for you and baby and dad. It's fun, you can call your neighbors over like, "let's listen to the baby's heart beat". But, it's not a good idea, and this is why.
Number one, depending on maternal habitus, placental location, or just how your baby is positioned at that moment, it can be hard to hear the baby's heartbeat. And so if you don't hear baby's heartbeat, then you're gonna get all stressed out, your blood pressure's gonna go up, it's like, it's unnecessary drama.
And also, just like these dopplers can hear the baby's heartbeat, they can also hear your heartbeat. So sometimes, people will hear a heartbeat, they'll think it's baby's, but it's really theirs, and they'll have a false sense of security.
So, when you look at what the FDA says, they say that these dopplers are legally marketed as, quote, "prescription devices, and should only be used by or under "the supervision of a healthcare professional", end quote.
So, they seem like a good idea, but as much as I want you to enjoy your pregnancy, I'm gonna have to say no for this.
I'm curious, in medicine now, because monitors have become so much smaller, we will often send heart patients home with a monitor to monitor their activity and, if anything's abnormal, it will be recorded. Are they doing that in the OB world?
Just to listen to babies at home, typically no.
And I'm wondering if, because what I'm getting at is these devices are available over the counter, I'm wondering if there may come a point in time where, you know, babies are being monitored remotely if there's an at-risk pregnancy, but they don't feel like it's a high enough risk to stay in the hospital 24/7, which is what we're doing some with adults.
If you're truly at risk, no one's gonna send you home, but this whole monitoring, because a lot of times, and I don't know how much this happens with babies, but they'll say "oh, you know last night, "I was worried, something felt wrong", and, but you've got nothing to monitor what was going on then.
Yeah, I think that's definitely a possibility, but with that being said, you're doing it in conjunction with the healthcare provider. So, if you have this monitor, then I'm looking at your strip remotely, and I'm seeing what's going on.
Well a chip that you, a chip somehow that you place there and that you're able to read it remotely.
Right, because I'm not just saying "oh, the fetal heartbeat is 110 or it's 120". I'm looking at the line and I'm making sure it goes up and down and making sure, and even if it's normal like 120, where is that in the grand scheme of things? That doesn't mean everything is okay just because you get that one number.
Technology is amazing because now, we have, literally, ultrasound machines that we can plug into our smartphones, and do ultrasounds. So, you know more and more DIY at home people are gonna be trying all these new products. I want to say "thank you".
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