One of the best parts of a prenatal appointment, in my opinion, is getting to hear your baby’s heartbeat on the Doppler. I always looked forward to the rapid swoosh I would hear as my obstetrician rolled the Doppler over my gel smeared belly.
Halfway through my pregnancy, some friends of ours lent us a stethoscope. For weeks upon weeks I was not able to hear a thing, unless you count the typical stomach gurgles. Then, one evening in my eighth or ninth month, I lay on my side and pressed the cold metal end of the stethoscope into my belly near the waist of my jeans. For the first few minutes it was quiet. I felt my son roll over and suddenly, loud and clear, I heard his heart beating clear as a bell. It didn’t sound like the swoosh of a Doppler. It sounded much more “real,” as though I had my ear pressed up against his tiny little chest. He lingered for a minute or two before rolling again. I tried moving the stethoscope around but I couldn’t pick up his heartbeat with the same clarity as before.
There are plenty of devices on the market, targeted at expecting families, that claim to allow you to listen to your baby’s heartbeat. Based on my experience with the stethoscope, I think any product that amplifies sound will detect a heartbeat sometimes. If you are looking for a device that will let you listen to your baby’s heartbeat at any given time, particularly earlier on in your pregnancy, you’ll likely be disappointed by anything you can buy off the shelf. A home Doppler, which requires a letter from your doctor to use, is the better option. The advantage of one of the devices, as opposed to a stethoscope, is that more than one person can listen once the heartbeat is found.
If you do use a stethoscope or a heart beat monitor, be patient. Try it out several times and move the device around your belly until you hear something. If you can’t get it to work, put it away for a while and bring it out again later in your pregnancy. The bigger your baby gets, the easier it will be to pick up a heartbeat.