The 16 week midwife appointment is one of those landmark antenatal appointments where most of us get to hear the galloping heartbeat of our unborn baby for the first time. It’s when most of is feel reassured that there is actually a baby in our ever-expanding tummy’s, and not just a curious case of wind that’s stopped our menstrual cycle. The fact that you’re piling on the pounds and now in over-the-bump maternity leggings and ill-fitting tunics is forgiven, and you’ll often see us emerge from the medical room stroking our bumps grinning like lotto winners.

With Dexter, Craig came to this appointment. In fact, during my first pregnancy, Craig came to every appointment. This time around though he’s overwhelmed with work and it just isn’t feasible. He’ll still come to scans and consultant appointments, but he’s having to miss many of the minor check-ups. He’s pretending this isn’t a big deal but I can tell he’s slightly upset.

When I heard about BabyWatch and was given the opportunity to give it go, I was really excited. It’s a highly sensitive pocket doppler device that resembles the ones in hospitals - albeit much sleeker and less messy. More than this, there’s a free smartphone app that allows you to record, visualise and share your experience with friends and family through your social networks. Sounds complicated? Nope, it’s actually really simple.

You simply connect up the doppler to the headphones provided, then hook it up to your iPhone using a cable (also provided). Use it as normal to locate baby’s heartbeat and select either listen (to visualise) or record to save the sound on your phone.

At BabyWatch, our mission is simple. We make tracking pregnancy easy, relaxing and interactive. BabyWatch allows active, working and modern mothers-to-be to hear their baby’s heartbeats from the comfort of their homes and to share these moments with friends and family. The future of prenatal care lies in making medical technology easily accessible and understandable. Our product is opening a new niche in the quantified self movement and encouraging moms-to-be to be more active and engaged in prenatal care.

To say I was excited was an understatement. I’ve used cheap dopplers before and been hugely disappointed. It’s impossible to hear the heartbeat and you end up incredibly worried rather than reassured. This one sounded really promising and might just mean that Craig will get to hear baby.

Here’s how we got on…

First up, the BabyWatch looks far more professional that high street versions we’ve all grown to hate. You pop some of the lubricating gel (provided) onto the conductor plate on the doppler, take a rough guess where baby is chilling out in your tummy, and lightly press down on your tummy with the device to listen in. Moving the doppler gently from side to side will eventually locate baby (it took us less than 30 seconds but I’m well aware it could take much longer - I guess we got lucky).

Battle scars on display - but don’t I look exotic draped in a silk scarf?

The sound of a baby’s heartbeat is pretty distinctive. It’s much faster than our own and sounds like galloping hooves. If it sounds pretty much like your own, the chances are it is (blood flow through the placenta or your own pulse). There are plenty of other sounds you might hear too - if you’ve just eaten a big meal you’ll hear some eerie sounds going on that might just make you jump if the volume is up too high! When we first heard Dexter I remember it sounded like a dog barking when the midwife was trying to find him - we ended up referring to him as ‘puppy’ after that until he was born.

When you’ve located it and had a listen, you can begin using the app. Not only will this give you a graphical visualisation of the heartbeat, the app also offers much more. You can use the calender function to track all your important dates, set reminders for upcoming appointments, get weekly medical fetal illustrations and more. Here’s the app in action.

It’s worth pointing out that the weekly fetal updates and illustrations are second to none in my opinion. I’ve hundreds of pregnancy apps on my iPhone but this is by far my favourite. The language is easy to understand but it’s also very detailed. As I follow my pregnancy using books too, I was suprised to discover that BabyWatch’s app contained much more information than my bedside reading material.

As always, I like to try and offer a balanced review. Obviously, there are minor improvements I would make, but these really are minor. Firstly, I’d love to see BabyWatch available in black - if you’re using it regularly and not cleaning properly, or your hands are a little grubby, the device does mark up a little.

Secondly, BabyWatch only comes with one set of headphones and one cable to connect to your iPhone. Naturally there are two jacks for this purpose. I’d much rather have seen three so both parents can listen in via the headphones and a phone can also be connected. I appreciate some women might not be in a relationship, but for those of use who are, it makes the experience a little less inclusive.

That’s it, otherwise the device is simply excellent. The fact you can share the recording on Facebook or send as an audio file via email is groundbreaking in my opinion. For peace of mind it’s also amazing. Hearing your baby is one of the most soothing, relaxing and also exhilarating experiences in the world. I’d go so far as to say it’s priceless. For just $99.99 BabyWatch is well worth its weight in gold.

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FANCY WINNING ONE?

I’ve been given a second doppler to send to one of my readers. Whether you’re pregnant, considering extending your family, or are entering on behalf of a friend or relative, you could bag your very own BabyWatch doppler. Entry is via rafflecopter so good luck. Remember, only one option on the Rafflecopter is mandatory (leave me a comment), the rest only improve your chances of winning.
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Disclaimer: I was sent a BabyWatch device in return for this review however all opinions are my own.
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