For further information about pregnancy, birth or private midwifery, contact Melissa Maimann at Essential Birth Consulting.
The joys and worries of pregnancy… can be numerous. One way moms-to-be often comfort themselves is with an at-home personal fetal monitor (Doppler device). The sound of baby’s heartbeat is certainly reassuring, but can the sounds of a normal heartbeat give the entire picture of a growing infant’s health?
A hand-held Doppler device assesses the presence of fetal heart pulsations only at that moment, and it is used by midwives and obstetricians … “In untrained hands it is more likely that blood flow through the placenta or the mother’s main blood vessels will be heard,” say the authors.
The article outlines a case of a … mom-to-be (at 32 weeks into her first pregnancy) with reduced fetal movements; She had first noted a reduction in her baby’s activity two days earlier but had used her own Doppler device to listen to the heartbeat and reassured herself that everything was normal.
… Speaking as the mother of two sons born in a birthing tub at home, assisted by midwives, I can agree that it is tempting to try to assuage worries for our baby’s health using a variety of methods … The bottom line: A safe … birth of a healthy infant requires regular and attentive care by a … midwife or doctor. There are no appropriate substitutes for experienced care by qualified health practitioners.
Melissa Maimann, Essential Birth Consulting 0400 418 448