Fetal monitoring measures the heart rate and rhythm of your baby. From the result, you will know how your baby is tolerating your contractions.
What is fetal monitoring?
Fetal monitoring is when your healthcare provider keeps tabs on your baby’s heart rate during labor.👶💗 You’ll be able to see how your baby responds to conditions in the womb and your contractions. If your baby shows abnormal heart rate, it is a signal that the baby is calling for help.🆘
External fetal heart monitoring
👶Continuous external electronic fetal monitoring
A stretchy band called a transducer will be tethered around your abdomen to continuously record your baby’s heartbeat. A second band around your abdomen is used to track your contractions.😃
The transducers are connected to a machine that constantly writes down your baby’s heart rate during labor.💗 Despite limited movement and slight discomfort due to the machine, aren’t you excited to listen to your baby’s heartbeat? Is it in tune with yours?🥰
👶Intermittent auscultation
Auscultation is a method of periodically listening to the fetal heartbeat. Your healthcare provider will hold the handheld Doppler device, external fetal monitor probe or fetoscope against your abdomen and record the heartbeat at specific intervals.
“Baseline” heart rate:
This is your baby’s heart rate between contractions when the baby is not moving.❤️
Heart rate during and shortly after contractions:
Your healthcare provider is trying to check how your baby is tolerating labor.🤔
Internal fetal heart monitoring
Internal fetal heart monitoring can only be done when the amniotic fluid sacs🌊 surrounding your baby have broken and the cervix is opened. If the external fetal heart monitoring is not accurate, the internal fetal heart monitoring is conducted.🙆♀️ A thin wire called electrode is attached to your baby’s scalp and runs from the baby through your cervix.🧠
During labor, your uterine contractions and your baby’s heart rate are recorded simultaneously to see how often you are having contractions and how your baby is tolerating them.⏺️ The pressure inside your uterus while doing internal heart monitoring can also be examined by putting a thin catheter through your cervix and into your uterus. Then, the catheter will send uterine pressure readings to a monitor and the doctor👩⚕️ can get more information about the strength of your contractions.😃
Why do you need fetal heart monitoring?
Fetal heart rate monitoring❤️ is extremely helpful if you have a high risk pregnancy. If you take preterm labor medicines to prolong your pregnancy days, fetal heart monitoring can check your baby’s health conditions during this important time.😃
Fetal heart monitoring can be used in other tests to further assess your baby’s conditions:
Nonstress test:
The test monitors to see how your baby responds to the baby’s movement.👶
Contradiction stress test:
If the result of the nonstress test is abnormal, this test measures fetal heart rate and uterine pressure at the same time to see if the baby is doing well during contractions when you’re in labor.👶
A biophysical profile (BPP):
This test combines a nonstress test with ultrasound to measure the physical traits of your body.👩