How Much Does a Fetal Heart Monitor Cost? Reviews on Brands and Prices

Nowadays, many pregnant women wish to monitor their unborn child’s heartbeat at home, being too anxious to wait for the scheduled prenatal visit. For this purpose, many fetal heart monitors for home use were designed. As always, the wide range of available models can be overwhelming – how to be sure that you’re choosing the best product? At this point, another question arises: how much does a good fetal Doppler cost? Is the price a guarantee of good quality? Are cheap baby monitors reliable and safe?

For answering these and other questions that expectant mothers might have, let’s make a review of the most popular brands of baby prenatal heart monitors.

Of course, the fetal monitors used in hospitals (medical grade products) are the best, but they are expensive and you need specialized knowledge in order to use them. The less expensive models for home use are more used-friendly, but the sound quality they provide is not as clear as the one provided by professional products.

The AngelSounds fetal Doppler is probably one of the most popular models. Its price ranges around $30 (reaching sometimes $60 or $70, depending on the features of the monitor). AngelSounds baby Dopplers look like portable CD players with headphones. They have a nice pink and white design and their ON-OFF button is shaped like a heart. Most AngelSounds fetal heart monitors do not require the application of an ultrasound gel on the abdomen. The device is battery-powered and used-friendly. It also has a recording cable which can be connected to the computer so the mother can record the heart beat of her baby.

The SonoTrax fetal Dopplers are more complex. They can be used both by pregnant women and health care professionals. They allow their users to listen to the heart beat of the fetus, at the same time retrieving and displaying on their LCD screen the real-time or averaged fetal heart rate (FHR). The probe (the transducer) is water resistant with a 3 MHz ultrasound frequency. A high quality ultrasound gel is included in the package. The prices range between $70 and $200. SonoTrax baby heart monitors are FDA approved.

If you’re looking for a Graco fetal heart monitor, you should search for a ‘Prenatal Heart Listener’ – that’s the official name of their product. The Graco monitors allow you to hear not only the heartbeat of the baby, but also its hiccups and kicks. If you want, you can also record these sounds and the sound of your own heartbeat. Graco heart listeners are not expensive – their cost ranges between $20 and $50.

Corometrics fetal monitors are designed for professional use. They provide quality prenatal monitoring for physicians’ offices. Their complex features require specialized medical knowledge. The price of a professional fetal heart monitor ranges around $1000.

Besides the brands mentioned in this article, you can find many other models of baby heart monitors online and in specialized local stores. You can also find many other online reviews written both by professionals and simple users.

If you’re planning to buy a baby Doppler, you won’t need a prescription. However, it’s advisable to speak with your physician before acquiring and using one. If you plan to have more children, you can invest in your own unit. Otherwise, you can consider renting a fetal monitor – it is more cost-effective.

A warning for anxious mothers: sometimes inexpensive fetal heart monitors cannot find the baby’s heartbeat immediately. Don’t be alarmed if this happens! Only your doctor can objectively decide if your baby is ok or not, so instead of worrying, it’s advisable to go see your health care provider!