Popular at-home fetal monitors linked to stillbirths, newborn deaths
The most recent death was on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said.
The sale of handheld fetal heart monitors – also known as portable fetal dopplers – was banned in Australia in September 2024 after a TGA review confirmed the devices were 'falsely reassuring' pregnant women that their distressed unborn babies had healthy heartbeats, leading to delays in seeking medical attention and death.
But retailers have continued to sell the popular, though illegal, devices to would-be Australian parents.
'[W]e are aware of devices being sold illegally through online platforms,' the TGA said in a statement, adding: 'There are no home-use [fetal] dopplers approved for supply in Australia by the TGA.'
People who use the devices without specialised training can easily mistake the sounds of the mother's blood flow or the placenta as a fetal heartbeat, providing potentially inaccurate reassurance, obstetricians and midwives have warned.
'Using a home-use [fetal] heart monitor to check a baby's heartbeat may seem reassuring, but it can be dangerously misleading,' the TGA's alert read.
There have also been cases where parents could not find a fetal heartbeat using the devices, causing unnecessary panic, the TGA said.
A Google search for fetal monitors returns dozens of hits for portable dopplers for sale, including several Australian-based retailers, potentially attracting criminal and civil penalties.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
15 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Sydney tobacco shop slammed after featuring Labubu holding vape
A tobacco shop has been slammed as a blatant attempt to target children after using global toy sensation Labubu on its shopfront signage. The newly opened 'Labubu Stop & Shop' on Marrickville Rd, in Sydney's inner west, featured signage showing two of the wildly popular Labubu plushies, with a hand holding a vape positioned in front of each of them. Another sign identified it as a tobacconist — and it's just metres from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese' s electoral office. Community outrage Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne, who shared a photo of the shop online, called the display 'a disgrace' and 'blatant advertising to children'. 'This is beyond belief — a picture of the popular children's toy smoking is on the signage,' he said. The photo sparked outrage on social media, with many users saying the signage could mislead children. 'Do you know what the worst thing is? My kid walked past and called it 'the lolly shop',' one comment read. 'We definitely don't need another tobacco shop in Marrickville! Was very disappointed when it opened,' another said. Professor Becky Freeman from the University of Sydney's School of Public Health said she was 'absolutely appalled' by the signage. 'The blatant marketing to children paired with the open selling of illicit vapes and cigarettes is a public health crisis,' Freeman told Breaching the law The federal government banned the sale of recreational vapes from July 2024, along with the importation, manufacture, advertising, and possession of non-therapeutic vapes. Vapes are only permitted for sale in pharmacies for people using them to quit smoking. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) told that unlawful dealings with vaping goods carry heavy penalties. 'These penalties can include up to seven years in jail and fines reaching $2.31 million for individuals and $23.10 million for corporations, per contravention,' a spokesperson said. The TGA confirmed the Labubu shop in Marrickville was being investigated. 'NSW Health is looking into this specific matter,' a spokesperson said, citing the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2008, which prohibits any image, sign or visual in a public place that promotes the purchase of a tobacco product. Earlier this month, another tobacconist in Melbourne's CBD was accused of luring children with 'candy' signage and a giant lollipop display. Victoria Police and the TGA seized about $40,000 in illicit vapes, along with tobacco products and cash. While the TGA did not comment directly on Labubu Stop & Shop, it confirmed it is 'progressing a number of investigations pertaining to unlawful supply of vaping goods'. The signage of 'Labubu Stop & Shop' was replaced with 'MRA Stop' on Wednesday, after council staff 'enforced their obligation', said Inner West Deputy Mayor Mat Howard. 'Signage that sells tobacco using imagery that appeals to children is wrong and has no place in our community,' Howard said. Push for stricter enforcement Freeman said the case highlights poor enforcement of vape sales laws in NSW and that cross-government action is needed. 'The NSW government needs to fast track laws that would allow the immediate shut down of shops selling illicit vapes and tobacco laws,' she said. 'The fines and other legal consequences, including criminal charges, for selling also need to be increased.' She added that a practical next step would be to significantly reduce the number of outlets permitted to sell tobacco products. 'Communities, especially parents, are tired of seeing yet another tobacco retailer open in their local shops,' she said. 'Parents can't be expected to manage this issue on their own, especially when predatory tobacconists are targeting kids.' Byrne echoed Freeman's concerns. 'The vape industry is using every trick in the book to target our kids. It's a disgrace,' Byrne told 'We're seeing shops selling vapes popping up in every neighbourhood and main street. We have to put a stop to them now before the next generation is hooked.' He said that currently, tobacconists can open by simply filling in a few forms. 'A new bottle-shop requires a full development application and social impact assessment — why doesn't a vape shop?' he asked. The TGA spokesperson said the agency regularly undertakes compliance and enforcement action. 'The TGA, as well as other Commonwealth, state and territory authorities, regularly take compliance and enforcement action against suspected unlawful advertising, importation, manufacture, supply and possession of vaping goods,' the spokesperson said.
The Advertiser
16 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Female-founded AI tool aims to transform women's health
Women are taking control of their health with a game-changing artificial intelligence tool to help navigate a medical system that has historically gaslit, dismissed and ignored their symptoms. More than half of Australian women live with a chronic health condition and wait years to be diagnosed, often as a result of being dismissed by health professionals. Mary Spanos first started experiencing painful symptoms of endometriosis when she was 12 years old but was not officially diagnosed until she was in her 20s. "It's a ridiculously long time to be experiencing those debilitating symptoms and there were countless emergency room visits and specialist appointments where I was completely dismissed," she tells AAP. Ms Spanos is one of countless women who have suffered in silence. "I honestly thought it was all in my head and had so many negative thoughts because the people who were supposed to know what was going on medically were telling me it was fine," she says. It's a similar story for Grace Lam, who started to experience debilitating health symptoms as she approached 50. A former senior fashion editor of Vogue China, Ms Lam was used to thriving in fast-paced, high-powered environments. Yet seemingly overnight, she began to experience insomnia, low libido, extreme brain fog and driving anxiety. "My symptoms hit me like a rocket overnight ... it felt like every day my brain was outside my body and I would wake up feeling so strange," Ms Lam says. "The rage was also something else. I am a feisty Asian woman, so that's nothing new, but this type of rage was just very different." When she raised these symptoms with her GP, the doctor prescribed her sleeping pills but would not discuss any management plans for perimenopause. "I didn't want to rely on the sleeping pills, so that's when I went down the rabbit hole of perimenopause symptoms online," Ms Lam says. "I learnt more about perimenopause online than from my doctor." A newly launched AI health partner Ovum wants to disrupt the health landscape and end gender health inequity across Australia. The app has been four years in the making, with two clinical trials at The Royal Hospital for Women and St George Hospital. It was founded by Ariella Heffernan-Marks, who had the idea while training as a doctor and witnessing the healthcare issues facing women. "I observed the structural barriers in our health care and realised we needed to look at integrated data rather than having it spread across multiple physicians and specialists," she says. "Women are feeling the bias in the healthcare system ... they have not been included in clinical trials for decades and this is impacting diagnostics and treatment." After suffering chronic migraines during medical school, Dr Heffernan-Marks personally experienced being dismissed by specialists and decided something needed to change. "We need to redefine women's health to not just be about reproductive health because there are so many chronic conditions facing women," she says. "All the fem-tech tools on the market are not catering to what women actually need." The AI behind Ovum draws from female-centric medical literature to understand and learn from a wide range of health factors. It helps identify patterns, log symptoms, collate reports and create questions for women to raise with their doctors at their next appointment. It is not a diagnostic tool but rather provides a starting point for discussion with a medical professional. Users can opt to share their information anonymously as part of a wider database researchers can use to develop new medications and treatments or better understand conditions. With access to sensitive personal data, Dr Heffernan-Marks says Ovum is nationally and globally compliant with stringent standards to protect users. "Ovum is really about addressing the structural, integrated and research barriers ... we have decades (of medical research) to catch up on and AI will help us do that," she says. "We are creating a safe space for women and solving the health data gap by feeding information back into the research." Women are taking control of their health with a game-changing artificial intelligence tool to help navigate a medical system that has historically gaslit, dismissed and ignored their symptoms. More than half of Australian women live with a chronic health condition and wait years to be diagnosed, often as a result of being dismissed by health professionals. Mary Spanos first started experiencing painful symptoms of endometriosis when she was 12 years old but was not officially diagnosed until she was in her 20s. "It's a ridiculously long time to be experiencing those debilitating symptoms and there were countless emergency room visits and specialist appointments where I was completely dismissed," she tells AAP. Ms Spanos is one of countless women who have suffered in silence. "I honestly thought it was all in my head and had so many negative thoughts because the people who were supposed to know what was going on medically were telling me it was fine," she says. It's a similar story for Grace Lam, who started to experience debilitating health symptoms as she approached 50. A former senior fashion editor of Vogue China, Ms Lam was used to thriving in fast-paced, high-powered environments. Yet seemingly overnight, she began to experience insomnia, low libido, extreme brain fog and driving anxiety. "My symptoms hit me like a rocket overnight ... it felt like every day my brain was outside my body and I would wake up feeling so strange," Ms Lam says. "The rage was also something else. I am a feisty Asian woman, so that's nothing new, but this type of rage was just very different." When she raised these symptoms with her GP, the doctor prescribed her sleeping pills but would not discuss any management plans for perimenopause. "I didn't want to rely on the sleeping pills, so that's when I went down the rabbit hole of perimenopause symptoms online," Ms Lam says. "I learnt more about perimenopause online than from my doctor." A newly launched AI health partner Ovum wants to disrupt the health landscape and end gender health inequity across Australia. The app has been four years in the making, with two clinical trials at The Royal Hospital for Women and St George Hospital. It was founded by Ariella Heffernan-Marks, who had the idea while training as a doctor and witnessing the healthcare issues facing women. "I observed the structural barriers in our health care and realised we needed to look at integrated data rather than having it spread across multiple physicians and specialists," she says. "Women are feeling the bias in the healthcare system ... they have not been included in clinical trials for decades and this is impacting diagnostics and treatment." After suffering chronic migraines during medical school, Dr Heffernan-Marks personally experienced being dismissed by specialists and decided something needed to change. "We need to redefine women's health to not just be about reproductive health because there are so many chronic conditions facing women," she says. "All the fem-tech tools on the market are not catering to what women actually need." The AI behind Ovum draws from female-centric medical literature to understand and learn from a wide range of health factors. It helps identify patterns, log symptoms, collate reports and create questions for women to raise with their doctors at their next appointment. It is not a diagnostic tool but rather provides a starting point for discussion with a medical professional. Users can opt to share their information anonymously as part of a wider database researchers can use to develop new medications and treatments or better understand conditions. With access to sensitive personal data, Dr Heffernan-Marks says Ovum is nationally and globally compliant with stringent standards to protect users. "Ovum is really about addressing the structural, integrated and research barriers ... we have decades (of medical research) to catch up on and AI will help us do that," she says. "We are creating a safe space for women and solving the health data gap by feeding information back into the research." Women are taking control of their health with a game-changing artificial intelligence tool to help navigate a medical system that has historically gaslit, dismissed and ignored their symptoms. More than half of Australian women live with a chronic health condition and wait years to be diagnosed, often as a result of being dismissed by health professionals. Mary Spanos first started experiencing painful symptoms of endometriosis when she was 12 years old but was not officially diagnosed until she was in her 20s. "It's a ridiculously long time to be experiencing those debilitating symptoms and there were countless emergency room visits and specialist appointments where I was completely dismissed," she tells AAP. Ms Spanos is one of countless women who have suffered in silence. "I honestly thought it was all in my head and had so many negative thoughts because the people who were supposed to know what was going on medically were telling me it was fine," she says. It's a similar story for Grace Lam, who started to experience debilitating health symptoms as she approached 50. A former senior fashion editor of Vogue China, Ms Lam was used to thriving in fast-paced, high-powered environments. Yet seemingly overnight, she began to experience insomnia, low libido, extreme brain fog and driving anxiety. "My symptoms hit me like a rocket overnight ... it felt like every day my brain was outside my body and I would wake up feeling so strange," Ms Lam says. "The rage was also something else. I am a feisty Asian woman, so that's nothing new, but this type of rage was just very different." When she raised these symptoms with her GP, the doctor prescribed her sleeping pills but would not discuss any management plans for perimenopause. "I didn't want to rely on the sleeping pills, so that's when I went down the rabbit hole of perimenopause symptoms online," Ms Lam says. "I learnt more about perimenopause online than from my doctor." A newly launched AI health partner Ovum wants to disrupt the health landscape and end gender health inequity across Australia. The app has been four years in the making, with two clinical trials at The Royal Hospital for Women and St George Hospital. It was founded by Ariella Heffernan-Marks, who had the idea while training as a doctor and witnessing the healthcare issues facing women. "I observed the structural barriers in our health care and realised we needed to look at integrated data rather than having it spread across multiple physicians and specialists," she says. "Women are feeling the bias in the healthcare system ... they have not been included in clinical trials for decades and this is impacting diagnostics and treatment." After suffering chronic migraines during medical school, Dr Heffernan-Marks personally experienced being dismissed by specialists and decided something needed to change. "We need to redefine women's health to not just be about reproductive health because there are so many chronic conditions facing women," she says. "All the fem-tech tools on the market are not catering to what women actually need." The AI behind Ovum draws from female-centric medical literature to understand and learn from a wide range of health factors. It helps identify patterns, log symptoms, collate reports and create questions for women to raise with their doctors at their next appointment. It is not a diagnostic tool but rather provides a starting point for discussion with a medical professional. Users can opt to share their information anonymously as part of a wider database researchers can use to develop new medications and treatments or better understand conditions. With access to sensitive personal data, Dr Heffernan-Marks says Ovum is nationally and globally compliant with stringent standards to protect users. "Ovum is really about addressing the structural, integrated and research barriers ... we have decades (of medical research) to catch up on and AI will help us do that," she says. "We are creating a safe space for women and solving the health data gap by feeding information back into the research." Women are taking control of their health with a game-changing artificial intelligence tool to help navigate a medical system that has historically gaslit, dismissed and ignored their symptoms. More than half of Australian women live with a chronic health condition and wait years to be diagnosed, often as a result of being dismissed by health professionals. Mary Spanos first started experiencing painful symptoms of endometriosis when she was 12 years old but was not officially diagnosed until she was in her 20s. "It's a ridiculously long time to be experiencing those debilitating symptoms and there were countless emergency room visits and specialist appointments where I was completely dismissed," she tells AAP. Ms Spanos is one of countless women who have suffered in silence. "I honestly thought it was all in my head and had so many negative thoughts because the people who were supposed to know what was going on medically were telling me it was fine," she says. It's a similar story for Grace Lam, who started to experience debilitating health symptoms as she approached 50. A former senior fashion editor of Vogue China, Ms Lam was used to thriving in fast-paced, high-powered environments. Yet seemingly overnight, she began to experience insomnia, low libido, extreme brain fog and driving anxiety. "My symptoms hit me like a rocket overnight ... it felt like every day my brain was outside my body and I would wake up feeling so strange," Ms Lam says. "The rage was also something else. I am a feisty Asian woman, so that's nothing new, but this type of rage was just very different." When she raised these symptoms with her GP, the doctor prescribed her sleeping pills but would not discuss any management plans for perimenopause. "I didn't want to rely on the sleeping pills, so that's when I went down the rabbit hole of perimenopause symptoms online," Ms Lam says. "I learnt more about perimenopause online than from my doctor." A newly launched AI health partner Ovum wants to disrupt the health landscape and end gender health inequity across Australia. The app has been four years in the making, with two clinical trials at The Royal Hospital for Women and St George Hospital. It was founded by Ariella Heffernan-Marks, who had the idea while training as a doctor and witnessing the healthcare issues facing women. "I observed the structural barriers in our health care and realised we needed to look at integrated data rather than having it spread across multiple physicians and specialists," she says. "Women are feeling the bias in the healthcare system ... they have not been included in clinical trials for decades and this is impacting diagnostics and treatment." After suffering chronic migraines during medical school, Dr Heffernan-Marks personally experienced being dismissed by specialists and decided something needed to change. "We need to redefine women's health to not just be about reproductive health because there are so many chronic conditions facing women," she says. "All the fem-tech tools on the market are not catering to what women actually need." The AI behind Ovum draws from female-centric medical literature to understand and learn from a wide range of health factors. It helps identify patterns, log symptoms, collate reports and create questions for women to raise with their doctors at their next appointment. It is not a diagnostic tool but rather provides a starting point for discussion with a medical professional. Users can opt to share their information anonymously as part of a wider database researchers can use to develop new medications and treatments or better understand conditions. With access to sensitive personal data, Dr Heffernan-Marks says Ovum is nationally and globally compliant with stringent standards to protect users. "Ovum is really about addressing the structural, integrated and research barriers ... we have decades (of medical research) to catch up on and AI will help us do that," she says. "We are creating a safe space for women and solving the health data gap by feeding information back into the research."
Perth Now
19 hours ago
- Perth Now
Female-founded AI tool aims to transform women's health
Women are taking control of their health with a game-changing artificial intelligence tool to help navigate a medical system that has historically gaslit, dismissed and ignored their symptoms. More than half of Australian women live with a chronic health condition and wait years to be diagnosed, often as a result of being dismissed by health professionals. Mary Spanos first started experiencing painful symptoms of endometriosis when she was 12 years old but was not officially diagnosed until she was in her 20s. "It's a ridiculously long time to be experiencing those debilitating symptoms and there were countless emergency room visits and specialist appointments where I was completely dismissed," she tells AAP. Ms Spanos is one of countless women who have suffered in silence. "I honestly thought it was all in my head and had so many negative thoughts because the people who were supposed to know what was going on medically were telling me it was fine," she says. It's a similar story for Grace Lam, who started to experience debilitating health symptoms as she approached 50. A former senior fashion editor of Vogue China, Ms Lam was used to thriving in fast-paced, high-powered environments. Yet seemingly overnight, she began to experience insomnia, low libido, extreme brain fog and driving anxiety. "My symptoms hit me like a rocket overnight ... it felt like every day my brain was outside my body and I would wake up feeling so strange," Ms Lam says. "The rage was also something else. I am a feisty Asian woman, so that's nothing new, but this type of rage was just very different." When she raised these symptoms with her GP, the doctor prescribed her sleeping pills but would not discuss any management plans for perimenopause. "I didn't want to rely on the sleeping pills, so that's when I went down the rabbit hole of perimenopause symptoms online," Ms Lam says. "I learnt more about perimenopause online than from my doctor." A newly launched AI health partner Ovum wants to disrupt the health landscape and end gender health inequity across Australia. The app has been four years in the making, with two clinical trials at The Royal Hospital for Women and St George Hospital. It was founded by Ariella Heffernan-Marks, who had the idea while training as a doctor and witnessing the healthcare issues facing women. "I observed the structural barriers in our health care and realised we needed to look at integrated data rather than having it spread across multiple physicians and specialists," she says. "Women are feeling the bias in the healthcare system ... they have not been included in clinical trials for decades and this is impacting diagnostics and treatment." After suffering chronic migraines during medical school, Dr Heffernan-Marks personally experienced being dismissed by specialists and decided something needed to change. "We need to redefine women's health to not just be about reproductive health because there are so many chronic conditions facing women," she says. "All the fem-tech tools on the market are not catering to what women actually need." The AI behind Ovum draws from female-centric medical literature to understand and learn from a wide range of health factors. It helps identify patterns, log symptoms, collate reports and create questions for women to raise with their doctors at their next appointment. It is not a diagnostic tool but rather provides a starting point for discussion with a medical professional. Users can opt to share their information anonymously as part of a wider database researchers can use to develop new medications and treatments or better understand conditions. With access to sensitive personal data, Dr Heffernan-Marks says Ovum is nationally and globally compliant with stringent standards to protect users. "Ovum is really about addressing the structural, integrated and research barriers ... we have decades (of medical research) to catch up on and AI will help us do that," she says. "We are creating a safe space for women and solving the health data gap by feeding information back into the research."
