When you're pregnant, there is nothing you want more than to know what's going on with the little person growing inside of you. If you have experienced complications or miscarriages in previous pregnancies, you may be even more anxious to know that your baby is healthy and happy inside of you. Having to wait between prenatal appointments to hear your child's heartbeat can make you uneasy. Thankfully, it is now possible to check on your baby with your own fetal heart monitor right at home.
How Fetal Monitors Work?
At your prenatal appointments, you have likely been thrilled to hear your baby's heart beating. In order for you to hear your child's heartbeat, your health care provider uses a device known as a fetal heart rate monitor or doppler. This device uses a probe to detect high frequency sound waves that are produced by your baby's heart.
Because these sound waves aren't easily heard under normal conditions, a gel, oil or water solution is spread onto your belly. The probe is then moved around this area until your child's heartbeat is detected. Once the sound waves are found, they are then sent from the probe to the doppler fetal heartbeat monitor, which amplifies the sound for you to hear.
