Babycare Elle TENS 2 review

The full review

The Elle TENS 2 is Babycare TENS's flagship labour unit, and on paper it has everything you want without much you don't. It runs on two AA batteries, drives four large 40 x 100mm pads across two channels, and has two mode ranges, each with a pulsing burst setting for between contractions and a continuous boost for during them.

The standout is the contraction timer. Press the boost button when a contraction starts and release it when it passes, and the unit records how long it lasted and the gap since the last one, storing your last five. That's the kind of information your maternity unit will ask about when you ring, and it saves your birth partner juggling an app. There's also an OptiMax control that adjusts pulse width in five steps, for when you want more oomph later on.

Owner feedback is strong: it averages 4.7 out of 5 from around 80 ratings on Amazon UK, and Mumsnet's labour TENS roundup lists it with price as the main drawback. The manual is clear on safety: not before 37 weeks unless advised, no pads on your abdomen, not with a demand-type pacemaker or implanted electrical device, and not in the water itself if you're planning a water birth.

At about £80 it's one of the pricier units to buy, and the guarantee is only a year. But the seven-week hire at £29.95, posted at 37 weeks with a freepost return, makes it the obvious choice if you only need it once.