Dixie EMS Fetal Stethoscope for Baby’s Heartbeat Detection, Latex-Free Fetoscope with Pinard Horn and Soft Earbuds, 22”

This works really well - but you need to know how to use it. I work in the medical profession and have used many types of stethoscopes in the past but this is the first time seeing and using a fetoscope. I just tried it today and was able to hear baby's heart tones relatively quickly. For those who've never used a fetoscope here are some step by step instructions:1. When you first get the fetoscope it comes in two parts, the ear piece with tubing and then actual fetoscope (the part that look like a metal rod with a black bell on one side and black curved piece on the other). Attach that to the tubing, make sure that it's attached very tightly so that the tubing touches the rod (no connector should be showing).2. When using the fetoscope, make sure the earpieces are placed tightly in your ears so that there is a good seal, no outside air moving around the pieces (can be a bit difficult because the earpieces are hard plastic, not very comfortable, but since you're only going to wear it for a few minutes, its tolerable). Also, proper stethoscope/fetoscope usage means that prior to placing the earpieces in, look at it, and you'll see that the ear pieces actually face one direction - you want to wear it so that the earpieces are pointing towards your eyes, not the back of your head.3. Hold the scope by the curved black piece, not the metal rod in between. Apply the the bell shaped part to the belly.4. Listen to all four quadrants of the belly (meaning, listen to all parts of your belly). If your baby is younger (2nd trimester or less) it will most likely be in the areas of the belly under the belly button (maybe even closer to pubis area). If you happen to know the position of the baby (head up/breech or head down or laying across/transverse) it can be helpful to find placement. To be able to hear the fetal heart, you must place the bell of the fetoscope where baby's heart is. So if baby is breech, you're more likely to find the heart tones higher on the belly and if baby's head down, you're more likely to find heart tones lower on the belly. Also remember that younger babies have more room so they tend to flip around a lot, so even if an ultrasound from earlier in the day states one position, the baby may have moved into a different position.5. When listening for the heart tones, here are some tricks that help:-Do it first thing in the morning when your bowel sounds are the quietest so the heart tones don't get masked by the bowel sounds-Lay on your back or slightly tilted to one side or the other (pregnant women should avoid laying flat on back if possible to maximize circulation to baby).-On heavier women it might be easier to gently pull the belly so that the skin where you place the bell is more taut.-Press bell down to belly with a gentle but firm touch, remember to hold scope by the curved black piece, not the metal rod or you will mask the sound.-Listen for several seconds before moving to another spot if unable to find heart tones.-Try to do this in a very quiet room, since the fetal heart tone will be very faint (remember you're listening to fetal heartbeat through many layers of tissue, mom's skin, adipose(fatty) tissue, abdominal muscle wall, uterine wall, amniotic sac with fluid, and baby's skin and muscles so when and if you do hear the heart tones it will be very soft/muffled). The fetal heartbeat is also very fast (fetal heartrate is normally between 110-160 beats per minute, whereas adults are more like 60-80 beats per minute). What you end up hearing sounds like a very fast but very soft/dull drum beat. If you're lucky and get heart tones that are very loud you may be able to hear the traditional "buh-bum buh-bum buh-bum" sound of a heart beating, but if it's not very loud you may only hear the "bum bum bum bum" sound.-If you don't hear anything, don't give up! Try listening again at a different time, since babies tend to move around, hopefully one of the movements will place his back closer to the belly so that you can hear the heart. Remember it's definitely harder to hear heart sounds in very younger fetuses (although electronic dopplers can detect heart tones as early as 5-6 weeks gestation, stethoscopes and fetoscopes typically aren't strong enough to hear anything until 18-20 weeks gestation, which is about halfway through second trimester).-Remember, a fetoscope is designed to listen to fetal heart tones, so if you're testing it on your own heartbeat or another adult's heartbeat it's not going to sound very loud and clear either. But that doesn't mean this is a "piece of junk" as some other commenters have said. It is designed for the very specific purpose of auscultating fetal heart tones.-Occasionally you may accidentally be listening to the maternal heart beat because you're listening to a maternal artery rather than the fetal heart. If unsure (especially if maternal pulse is quite high) you can double check by feeling for mom's pulse on the wrist - if it matches the heartbeat that you're hearing then it's maternal pulse, not baby, so move the scope to a different location and listen again.On a personal note: I have worked with pregnant women and also newborns so I am pretty used to the sound of a fetal and newborn heartbeat, and so I was able to recognize and hear it when quite quickly when using the fetoscope. The fetal heartrate is very, very fast. If you've never heard it before, I suggest searching online and listening to some sound clips to get an idea prior to starting. I used this fetoscope on myself, and I am currently 24 weeks pregnant. Prior to pregnancy I was slightly overweight especially in the belly area so I was concerned that it would be difficult (if not impossible) to hear through the fatty tissue of the belly, but it was not the case for me. After locating the heart tones I did pass the earpiece to my husband (who is not in the medical profession) and he had a difficult time hearing it - he said he wasn't sure if what he was hearing was the heart or just weird sounds. After passing the earpiece back to me I listened again and could still hear the heart sounds, but again it is very faint, and since he didn't know what he was listening for couldn't really hear it.I used several different types of stethoscopes (including a very nice cardiac one) on myself prior to the fetoscope and was unable to hear the heart tones until using the fetoscope.Tl;dr -Pros:-It's cheap (was $13 at time of purchase through Amazon)! Especially compared to an electronic doppler (and no messy gels to work with).-It works!-I can use it any time - no need to worry about replacing batteries or recharging it, haha.-Comes in a sturdy cardboard box so when I'm not using it I can put it back in box for easy storage.Cons:-May be more difficult for people who have none/limited experience with stethoscopes, fetoscopes or fetal heart sounds (hopefully my review helps with that though)-The earpieces are a very hard plastic and can be very uncomfortable for some people (was manageable for me though, but maybe my ears have gotten tougher after all these years of jabbing various stethoscopes in my ears), and you do have to shove pretty firmly into your ears to form a tight seal for it to be effective.-Even if you do hear heart tones it can be very quiet/muffled, and you can't amplify sounds (obviously) like you could with an electronic doppler, so you really do want to do this in a very quiet place (turn off all fans, televisions, etc), and know what you're listening for.

I hear my heart beat and i can hear the gas bubbles. i’m 19 weeks almost 20 weeks and you can’t hear my sons heartbeat at all… before i get a negative person saying some mean stuff, i did my research before buying and more when i got it. i watched videos looked up articles to see if i was doing it wrong, i thought hey i may be to early to hear it on this so let’s wait (i was 18 weeks just turned) and everything i read, watched, etc all said end of 19 weeks, 20 weeks+ you should be able to hear it… If you have really bad anxiety and i would NOT get this product. i’ve cried 100x over because of it, my RN that comes to my house even tried and couldn’t hear anything. best bet is to just buy a doppler i’m gonna be doing that myself and try and get a refund from this waste of money. if i could i would leave 0 stars.

This review is written with the presumption the buyer does not work in the medical field and is not a med student. It assumes the buyer is getting it for personal use only. I've actually had mine since 2017 and any problems I have had in using this were human error that was easy for me to quickly fix.First things first, you need to keep in mind a fetal heartbeat is always 4 to 5 times faster than an adult human's heartbeat. Once you understand that, finding the baby's heartbeat becomes much easier.Second, Fetoscopes like this and Fetal Pinards (they look like cones and are much easier for finding the baby's heartbeat but the mother can't use them on herself obviously) do not amplify sounds like Portable Fetal Dopplers you can buy or rent do. The quieter the room you're in is, the easier it gets to hear the fetal heartbeat.Third, the earliest you will be able to clearly find and hear the baby's heartbeat with the Fetoscope (or Fetal Pinard) is 20 weeks (for portable Portable Fetal Dopplers, it's 16 weeks). The reason is because the Fetoscope does not amplify internal noise that much.When using the Fetoscope, it doesn't matter if you're pregnant and using it on yourself or you're using it on a pregnant woman. The simple directions are the same but what stage in the pregnancy is the biggest factor in finding the baby's heartbeat. When 20 to about 24 weeks, you want to listen in the area around the waist. From 24 weeks to about 32 weeks, check around the areas around the navel. From 32 weeks to 40+ weeks whichever side has movement, check the opposite side. If it's a twin pregnancy, you will need to really pay attention so you don't get them mixed up.The best times of day to use a Fetoscope are within the first 30 minutes of waking up, within 30 to 60 minutes after a meal and just before bed. If you're pregnant and using it on yourself, it's best to lie flat on your back with your legs straight until you're relaxed. Use your hands to find the baby's position and go from there. If you're using it on a pregnant woman, encourage her to relax to help lower her heart rate and more so if she is feeling anxious or nervous. Either way, you know you found the baby's heartbeat when you hear a fast rhythm or fast "whoosh, whoosh" sound. If you hear either of those, congrats you found the baby.If you are unable to find the baby's heartbeat, that doesn't mean something's wrong. It just means you couldn't find it. That's ok too. If you need help figuring out how to use it, I reccommend talking to your OB/GYN or Midwife.This is Important to keep in mind should you choose to get this: Like Fetal Dopplers, Fetoscopes and Fetal Pinards are there to provide some at-home reassurance and peace of mind. They alone should not be the basis for diagnosing any anomalies you might suspect. If you have any questions or concerns about your pregnancy, please speak to your OB/GYN or Midwife.

I am a day shy of being 22 weeks pregnant with an anterior placenta and haven't started feeling any movements as yet . I have a doppler but they say it's not safe to use daily so I decided to try this fetal scope despite all the negative reviews .The 1st couple times I use it I couldn't hear anything but I tried two days later and bomb there it was , I could hear my baby girl heart beat along with some other strange noise in my stomach. I hear her heart beat Everytime I use it now . I am very happy I didn't follow those negative comments 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Not returnable or exchangeable. I'm a nurse and 20+ weeks pregnant and am not able to hear anything with this fetoscope. I do not recommend purchasing, especially if you aren't familiar with medical equipment. You're better off using a doppler which is about the same price as this fetoscope.