NICE
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG62
Auscultation of the fetal heart may confirm that the fetus is alive but is unlikely to have any predictive value and routine listening is therefore not recommended. However, when requested by the mother, auscultation of the fetal heart may provide reassurance.
Routine Doppler ultrasound should not be used in low‑risk pregnancies. [2008] NICE
not recommended by RCM
https://www.rcm.org.uk/news-views-and-analysis/news/‘ban-sale-of-home-dopplers’
Mandy Forrester, RCM head of quality and standards, said: ‘We have two key concerns: firstly, the machines can lead to unnecessary stress for women when they are unable to find a heartbeat using the personal doppler and secondly, that women may be falsely reassured by hearing what they think is their baby’s heartbeat when it is actually their own.
high risk pregnancies may be different
not recommended by cochrane
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25874722
Existing evidence does not provide conclusive evidence that the use of routine umbilical artery Doppler ultrasound, or combination of umbilical and uterine artery Doppler ultrasound in low-risk or unselected populations benefits either mother or baby. Future studies should be designed to address small changes in perinatal outcome, and should focus on potentially preventable deaths.
not recommended by the FDA
Expectant mothers should also be aware of purchasing over-the-counter fetal heartbeat monitoring systems (also called doptones). These devices should only be used by trained health care providers when medically necessary. Use of these devices by untrained persons could expose the fetus to prolonged and unsafe energy levels, or could provide information that is interpreted incorrectly by the user.
https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emittingproducts/radiationemittingproductsandprocedures/ucm115357.htm
case reports of women experiencing reduced movements who have reassured themselves with a fatal heart monitor – but been false reassurance resulted in still birth
https://www.bmj.com/bmj/section-pdf/186393?path=/bmj/339/7730/Feature.full.pdf
FDA
https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm095508.htm
although there is a lack of evidence of any harm due to ultrasound imaging and heartbeat monitors, prudent use of these devices by trained health care providers is important,” says Shahram Vaezy, Ph.D., an FDA biomedical engineer. “Ultrasound can heat tissues slightly, and in some cases, it can also produce very small bubbles (cavitation) in some tissues.”
Parliamentary Bill
https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2017-19/fetaldopplersregulation.html
uncertainties about real life outcomes
FDA
Expectant mothers should also be aware of purchasing over-the-counter fetal heartbeat monitoring systems (also called doptones). These devices should only be used by trained health care providers when medically necessary. Use of these devices by untrained persons could expose the fetus to prolonged and unsafe energy levels, or could provide information that is interpreted incorrectly by the user.
anxiety in general – false reassurance or finding problems that aren’t
British medical ultrasound society 2015 guidance
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