What is a fetal Doppler and how does it work

What is a fetal Doppler and how does it work?

A fetal Doppler is a kind of non-invasive monitoring device for babies before delivery. It is a specially designed device to monitor fetal heart rate (FHR). Fetal Heart Rate assessment is an effective and useful means used to evaluate the fetal condition by identifying FHR patterns. Currently there are several ways to monitor the heart rate of the fetus before birth. Electronic fetal monitoring is one of them. This device is usually used in labor and it is able to measure FHR and continuously records it in graphical form. Another type of monitoring fetus is by the aid of a special kind of stethoscope to measure baby’s heartbeat. This type of fetoscope is usually used after about 30-week gestation. Internal fetal monitoring of FHR is an invasive procedure. It needs a spiral electrode attached to the baby’s scalp to record and calculate the fetal heart rate. A handheld ultrasound fetal heart Doppler is another avenue to detect the fetal heart rate. The little device makes use of the Principle of Doppler Effect to record and measure the FHR through an external non-invasive way. The fetal heart Doppler works by means of emitting and receiving continuous ultrasound waves and then emitting the shift in frequency and wavelength.

Each ultrasonic Doppler is equipped with a 3MHz or a 2MHz probe. The probe is waterproof. The higher frequency probe will produce shorter wavelength than the lower frequency one. The results of millions of tests prove that 3MHz works better than the lower frequency one during pregnancy. Only in some special cases for overweight expecting mothers, 2MHz probe works better than higher frequency one.

The ultrasonic baby Doppler provides the expecting mothers a safe method to listen to the fetal heart rate. The usage of such a device is comfortable and convenient. What pregnant women need to do is to just lie down and expose their abdomen. A certain amount of ultrasonic gel is indispensable to be greased on the probe. The function of the gel is to protect the probe and reduce static and the popping sound during the course of doing the exam. Normally, the fetal heart rate can be detected from 8-12 weeks pregnant women. The fetal Dopplers can detect maternal sounds and placental sounds, that comes the sound of blood flow of the expecting mothers. The average normal range of FHR is between 120BPM-180BPM. And it’s a normal phenomenon that the fetal heart rate can reach as high as 190. The data may vary within a reasonable range. The calculation of baby’s heart-rate is easy. Users can set and count any interval of time and then multiply that number to get the final results.

Now more and more expecting parents are choosing to rent or purchase a reliable FDA approved ultrasound fetal Doppler for home monitoring and reference. For more questions and concerns about this device, please consult your own health care provider.