You go to your Obstetrician and they pull out their nice little baby heart monitor and for a few short seconds you are able to hear your baby’s heart beat. It makes you feel great. Then you get to wait another month until you hear it again.
Most expectant parents may not even be aware they can buy an inexpensive baby heart monitor to use at home. Instead of being at the mercy of waiting for your next doctor’s appointment, you can listen any time you want. At night when you lie down to rest, you can use the heart monitor and take turns listening to the little heart beat.
Listening and enjoying the heart beat can be very reassuring. You spend your quiet moments thinking about your baby, feeling them move, and probably talking to them. Using the monitor to listen to their rapid tiny heart beat is one way to feel even closer and more in touch with your growing baby.
How much can you expect to pay for a baby heart monitor? There is a pretty substantial price range starting as low as approximately $20 and going up from there. You can find monitors which work great in the $20 to $40 price range, a small price to pay for the enjoyment of hearing your baby.
What about the serious business? A baby heart monitor is used for many purposes during a pregnancy. The most common is during your regular check-ups, and then when you arrive in the hospital for delivery. These are two very different systems.
When you go to the hospital you are going to be harnessed with multiple sensors which monitor your baby’s heartbeat, record it to paper, and also monitors your contractions. The nurses and your Doctor will closely monitor your baby’s heartbeat during the contraction to see how stressed the baby is becoming. In cases where the heartbeat starts beating too slowly they may elect to speed along your delivery either naturally, or may be rushing you in for a c-section delivery. This is an important and serious use of a baby heat monitor to protect your baby during delivery
When else is the heart monitor used seriously? Anytime your Doctor detects any problems with the baby, or with your own health you and your baby will start being monitored very closely. The Doctor needs to have great feedback to help them give you the best advice and treatments. These heart monitors are crucial to you and your baby.
Which kind should you be most interested in today? The home baby heart monitor is the one you should get, and then focus on the good things about your baby. If there is ever a need for the other monitor your Doctor or a nurse will make the decision and tell you what needs to be done, no need for you to worry about something you will not see until the day you are patiently waiting for. Your first experience with the serious heart monitor is going to occur the day your baby comes screaming into the world, ready for mom and dad to comfort them. Get prepared by listening to that tiny heart beat at home.