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I got a Doppler as a gift at around 22 weeks...my family has loved hearing the heartbeat but I've really only used it a handful of times since then. Now that I can feel the baby move all the time I don't feel the need to take it out. It was nice to have last week though when I fell up the stairs...I didn't feel any movement for a little bit so I took out the Doppler. Hearing a nice strong heartbeat reassured me and stopped my worrying.

All in all, it's nice to have but I don't think I would have bought one for myself.

I have one and it was nice to have, it have me peace of mind. Once she started moving I used it less but for the weeks I did use it, it was worth the $50.

I bought one on eBay early in my pregnancy, and spent hours searching for the heartbeat. Since I'm not a professional, I had a really hard time finding the HB and often confused my own with baby's.

It was easier to find further along into my pregnancy, but at that point I could feel movement and wasn't nearly as worried as I was in the beginning!

I probably used it once a week, maybe even less, but it's really nice when your worried. The only time it didn't work for me was when the cord want fully plugged in. Stupid me!

I think having one makes you more likely to over use it and freak out if you dont hear anything. So I voted no

I did not buy one on purpose since I didn't want to worry myself if I couldn't find it and I'm so glad I held off since I started feeling movement around 17 weeks so there is really no need for it after that. In those early days though, I know it gave a lot of other bee's peace of mind to use it, but I personally didn't want to go there since I really don't know what I'm doing and the way I saw it - if there is no more heartbeat to detect it's not like you can do anything about it anyway (sorry I know that's depressing, but it's how I felt ultimately).

I voted yes. We had a complication early on and were at a high risk to miscarry, I was able to find the heartbeat at 14 weeks and would check once a week until we were in the clear. It really gave us peace of mind. There are you tube videos and various other things that will tell you how to position it and find the heartbeat!

I got one around 10wks and found it really useful from then until I felt her moving regularly around 17wks.

If you get one, maybe get a used one and then re-sell it? Once they start kickin' ya you won't need to use it as much or at all!

We passed. Even our OB used an ultrasound at every appt bc doppler is less reliable finding two. You'll get to see them every few weeks anyway, and you may feel kicks earlier with two.

@Mrs. Jacks: I completely agree with you. Also, I feel like the potential risks of increased use, particularly by non-professionals, haven't been studied enough to make me comfortable with the idea. Plus, they aren't going to stop something going wrong if that's what's going to happen -- all it will do is allow you to find out a bit sooner. TBH, if I was going to get bad news, I'd rather be at the doctor's office where they are trained to help deal with it than at home where I'd just totally freak out...but I know others may feel differently.

I decided against one...I'm also having twins & decided that the frequent dr's visits have been enough to ease my mind.

I bought one and couldn't find a heartbeat until 15 weeks! Dang anterior placenta. So, if it will stress you out more to look for the heartbeat and not find it, than to live in the unknown, then I wouldn't get it. There were times when I didn't feel LO move for a bit or had a bad dream or something, and then hearing the heartbeat was really reassuring.

We got a fetal stethoscope. I couldn't consistently hear the heartbeat until 20+ weeks, though. I liked it because most nights before bed we'd listen to his heartbeat (even though we could feel him move).

I agree with @Mrs. Jacks: especially the twins part. Our OB even sometimes had a hard time figuring out on the Doppler if they were getting both babies heartbeats, and I think it would have led to a lot of stress if I wasn't sure I was getting both little guys. I know it gets harder and harder as they get squished together more and more, too. Personally, I found twin pregnancy to be pretty stressful with the additional risks, so I think I would have been tempted to use it every single day to make sure they were okay, which would have led to inevitable scares. We had ultrasounds quite often since they were mono-di, so I did at least have that reassurance.