Expectant mums advised against use of foetal heart monitors
Friday November 06 2009
THEY are marketed as "one of pregnancy's essentials" but they could be death traps for the unwary, according to concerned doctors.
Expectant parents are warned not to use over-the-counter foetal heart monitors, the sales of which are rising rapidly.
The fashionable devices cost anywhere from £20 (€22) to £90 (€100) and are advertised as enabling parents to listen to their baby's heartbeat any time.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, doctors warn expectant parents not to deploy their own foetal heart monitors because of the risk they may give false reassurance and lead to delays in seeking medical help. But a spokesman for The Royal College of Obstetricians said there were situations in which it could be useful.
"If an anxious parent sought medical advice before purchasing a monitor and had some element of training in how to use one by qualified staff, they could be of some use," he said. (© Independent News Service)
- Jeremy Laurence in London
Irish Independent
