Heart rate monitor for home use - is it worth buying?

Home heart rate monitor - how it works

Home heart rate monitors are an increasingly fashionable piece of equipment. Their mode of operation is based on the Doppler effect, which is completely harmless for mother and child. The device emits ultrasound waves and then analyses the reflected and returning sound waves. Most of the time, these devices run on batteries and are very handy. To listen to the pulse of the foetus, the head of the device is placed on the skin of the abdomen over a previously applied gel. Depending on the week of pregnancy, the manufacturers recommend a certain area in which to look for the baby's pulse. Nowadays it is possible to rent such devices so that the parents-to-be can limit their expenses.

Home Heart Rate Monitor - Advantages

Some manufacturers boast that their product can listen to a heartbeat as early as the 9th to 10th week of pregnancy. This gives parents peace of mind, especially in the first trimester when the risk of miscarriage is highest. In addition, for many parents, the home detectors create a bond between them and the baby.  The heart rate monitors that are available are safe and have been tested (CE mark) before they are put on the market. It is advisable to choose products from well-known manufacturers who have the most experience in producing this type of equipment.

Heart rate monitor for home use - Disadvantages

If home heart rate monitors had only advantages, they would be widely recommended. However, it is important to consider the possible disadvantages of these devices, such as the possibility of accidentally reading the mother's heart rate, which causes anxiety in parents because the readings are lower than those of fetal heart function. Furthermore, self-interpretation of the results by parents who have no medical training can lead to wrong conclusions. Reliance on the home heart rate detector may also reduce parental vigilance, e.g. when fetal movements are less noticeable.

Can a heart rate monitor at home replace a CTG?

Home heart rate monitors are still only a supplementary test and cannot replace a visit to the hospital for CTG measurement. They are especially important for women with gestational diabetes or high blood pressure during pregnancy. A CTG recording in hospital should also be done by every woman at the time of delivery and when fetal movements are less noticeable. The home heart rate detector has only a supportive function for the psychological comfort of the parents, but is not a substitute for a professional evaluation of the CTG recording.