For expectant parents, knowing their baby's heart is beating at a healthy rate can be deeply reassuring.
So it's understandable that a device that allows parents to check their baby's heartbeat — a home fetal monitor — was rising in popularity before medical experts sounded the alarm.
Warning: This article contains information relating to infant loss.
The main concern was that the information the monitor provides may be dangerously misleading without proper training.
In August 2025, the monitors were banned from sale in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
However, they continue to be available for purchase online for between $60 and $100.
So what are fetal monitors? And why exactly were they banned?
Fetal monitors"hear" baby's heartbeat
Fetal monitors, also known as fetal dopplers, are handheld devices that are routinely used by medical providers to listen to a baby's heartbeat from as early as 10–12 weeks.
Craig Pennell, chair of obstetrics and gynaecology at University of Newcastle, said the devices used soundwaves, similar to an ultrasound, to detect the baby's heartbeat.
"If you were standing at a railway station and a train was coming towards you, you would hear a noise and as the train went away from you, you would hear a different noise," he said.
"As the train comes towards you, the sound waves are being compressed and as the train goes away from you the sound waves are stretching out and that's the Doppler principle."
More specifically, a transducer (or probe) is placed on the mother's abdomen where it sends soundwaves at a certain frequency into the uterus. When the soundwaves hit something that is moving, such as blood flow, the waves are reflected back at a different frequency, allowing the number of beats per minute to be determined.
Home fetal doppler monitors detect the heartbeat through the same frequency as medical-grade dopplers, but are cheaper and less reliable, according to experts.
Some of these devices synchronise with a phone apps to read heart beats.
Groups such as the Stillbirth Centre for Research Excellence strongly advise not to use fetal doppler monitors saying there is no evidence they improved pregnancy outcomes and instead "increase the risk due to false reassurance and delayed access to appropriate care".
Why they were banned
The TGA banned the sale of all home-use devices following advice from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) and the Advisory Committee for Medical Devices that the risks outweighed the benefits.
"The devices themselves aren't inherently dangerous," explained Scott White, RANZCOG's research, policy and guidelines chair.
"It's the way they've been applied by the public is the thing that concerns us."
Dr White said untrained people may mistakenly use these monitors to detect the mother's heartbeat instead of the fetus, or the heartbeat may not be a sufficient measure of the baby's wellbeing.
"People use them for that quick reassurance, when actually they need a more thorough assessment," Dr White said.
"There have been cases with bad outcomes, situations where people were worried about their baby not moving as much as they expected."
"Then parents don't present for a review for a more thorough assessment and subsequently the baby has died," he said.
Kick counting apps no better
There are also online apps, widely available for download, that encourage parents to count kicks and monitor movements.
RANZCOG president Nisha Khot said these apps, like devices, could give parents a false sense of security and not seeking medical guidance when they suspect something is wrong.
"Often these apps are about counting the movements and they will say 'Great if you've got to 10 movements in the day, you can stop worrying', but that's not how it works in real life in pregnancy," she said.
Dr Khot said it was more important to know what was normal movement for your baby, rather than having a set quota of kicks or movement.
"Babies' movements can be very individual. Each baby can have its own pattern and some babies will never develop a regular pattern.
"It's about how you would normally expect your baby to be moving," she said.
Dr White agreed that changes in movement patterns, "not necessarily less, but different" movements was important.
"A change in the pattern, the number or the type of movements; that's what we're interested in," he said.
What's regulated, and what's not
Despite the ban and warnings about at home devices the ABC identified online websites advertising monitors that could be purchased by Australian consumers online.
The TGA said it collaborated with digital providers to "request they apply content filters or remove listings that contain specified prohibited keywords or claims."
"When alleged unlawful advertisements come to our attention, we alert the particular platform who typically assesses and takes prompt action in accordance with their user policies," a spokesperson for the TGA said.
Some online apps that allow parents to record kicks and movement, however, are not regulated.
At the time it banned doppler monitors from sale in Australia the TGA advised that these types of apps should be considered medical devices.
"It may look like a diary, but these digital products are intended to prevent fetal harm through monitoring fetal movement. As such they are considered to be medical devices," it said.
All medical devices sold in Australia must be registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG).
Following questions by the ABC about the widespread availability of kick count apps, the TGA updated its advice saying it does not consider these types of apps as medical devices, but still urged parents not to rely on them.
"These apps would not be regulated by the TGA or require inclusion in the ARTG."
However apps that make medical claims or monitor fetal health or wellbeing remain classified as medical devices and need to be registered on the ARTG.
Any apps or software that "diagnose fetal health issues or alert users to potential concerns with their pregnancy are still likely to be a medical device and need to be registered on the ARTG," the TGA said.
It is unclear what would specifically fall into this category, but the ABC found apps available that provide "built-in guidance and in-app messaging to help you recognise changes".
What to do if you need reassurance
Dr Khot says pregnancy can be difficult and stressful, and it is normal for parents to feel anxious about their baby's wellbeing.
"If parents are anxious, it is much better to talk to your healthcare provider to find a way of working through those anxieties," she said.
"It might be the baby's movements. It might be baby's growth for someone else. It might be the fact that they live far away from the hospital.
"Talk to your healthcare provider and explore the specific anxieties that you have about your pregnancy and come up with a plan that works for you."
Dr White acknowledged there was a gap in the market for something to provide reassurance to parents without escalating issues with medical guidance.
"There are interesting devices in development, they're things that do a much more thorough assessment of the baby's wellbeing.
"That's really exciting for the future and they're probably not that far off and I would've thought within five years we will probably be using these more advanced home monitoring systems," he said.
But until those devices become available, if parents are concerned in any way, a check-in with a maternal health provider is recommended.
