What should you know about a BabyTone fetal heart monitor?

Finding or not finding a heartbeat with a consumer device can be misleading. Position, pregnancy stage, body tissue, movement and technique all affect what the device picks up.

A handheld home monitor uses ultrasound waves to turn movement into sound. It may pick up the fetal heartbeat, but it may also detect the pregnant person's pulse, placental blood flow or other movement.

A number or sound heard briefly does not assess the full heart-rate pattern, fetal movement, growth or placental function. Clinical monitoring is selected and interpreted by trained maternity staff in the context of the pregnancy.

If you choose to use the device, follow its instructions, limit use to its intended purpose and stop if searching is making you anxious. Do not use a recording or displayed value to diagnose a problem.

Continue all scheduled antenatal appointments and follow your maternity team's guidance about your baby's usual movement pattern. A home monitor should never be used to decide that reduced movement, bleeding, pain or feeling unwell can wait.

Contact your maternity unit promptly if your baby is moving less than usual or the movement pattern has changed. Seek advice based on the symptom, whether the home device finds a sound or not.

Urgent assessment is also needed for heavy bleeding, leaking fluid, severe or persistent abdominal pain, regular painful tightening before expected labour, severe headache with visual changes, breathing difficulty, fainting or a seizure. Use local emergency services for severe symptoms.

Ask your midwife or obstetrician how fetal wellbeing is assessed at your stage of pregnancy and whom to call after hours if movement changes.

You can also ask how to distinguish your own pulse from fetal sounds and why a clinical check may include more than listening to the heartbeat.