What to do if fetal heart rate monitoring fails

During a woman's pregnancy, it is very important to check the fetal heartbeat. People will judge the physical condition of the fetus based on the fetal heartbeat. However, during the check, the fetal data monitoring often shows abnormalities, which makes pregnant women feel very scared. So what should they do if the test fails?

What should I do if the fetal heart rate monitoring fails?

Since the fetal heart rate monitoring is not up to standard, it is necessary to consider that there is something abnormal with the fetus in the uterine cavity and to pay attention to follow-up visits, or further examinations should be done to find the exact cause and actively treat the symptoms. If necessary, you can also go to the next level hospital for follow-up visits. Only when the fetal heart rate monitoring is up to standard can you feel at ease.

When doing fetal heart monitoring, everyone should pay attention to two lines. The upper line represents the fetal heart rate, and the lower line represents the intrauterine pressure. The fetal heart rate is normally a wavy straight line, and any fluctuation between 120 and 160 is considered normal. Within 20 minutes of fetal heart monitoring, if the baby's fetal heartbeat fluctuations are within this range, then there is no problem.

However, if the baby's fetal heart rate does not change, or does not move for a long time, this situation is what we often call fetal heart monitoring failure. At this time, the doctor will usually ask you to do fetal heart monitoring again after an hour, or arrange for you to do other tests. If the doctor feels that the baby's condition is not particularly good, he or she may recommend an induced abortion. In fact, everyone can do fetal heart monitoring at home by themselves. You can go to the pharmacy or hospital clinic to buy some related home-use equipment, and check it at home anytime and anywhere, so that you will have a better idea of ​​the situation.

Abnormalities in fetal heart rate monitoring

The normal heart rate of a fetus is between 120 beats/minute and 160 beats/minute. If the fetal heart rate is <120/minute or >160 beats/minute for more than 10 minutes, it means that the fetal heart rate is abnormal.

During fetal heartbeat monitoring, if an abnormality is found in the fetal heartbeat pattern, it is often used to indicate that the fetal heartbeat is abnormal. In most cases, abnormal fetal heartbeat means that the fetus is suffering from insufficient oxygen in the uterine cavity. The more severe the abnormal fetal heartbeat is, the more severe the fetal intrauterine hypoxia is. However, not all abnormal fetal heartbeat is caused by insufficient oxygen.

In addition to the above-mentioned situations, the condition of the pregnant woman herself also affects the changes in the fetal heartbeat. For example, if the pregnant woman has a fever, the fetal heartbeat will often exceed 160 beats/minute. If the pregnant woman has a relatively hyperactive thyroid hormone, her own heartbeat will be fast, and the fetal heartbeat will also often exceed 160 beats/minute. If the pregnant woman takes some medicines, such as salbutamol for premature babies, or atropine, it can cause the heart rate of both the mother and the child to increase. In addition, in the case of umbilical cord entanglement, the movement of the fetus sometimes aggravates the entanglement and the fetal heartbeat continues to accelerate. This coiling may be transient. If it occurs after 36 weeks, due to the relatively fixed position of the fetus, this entanglement may cause fetal distress or even death.

In addition, after more than 40 weeks of pregnancy, due to the development of the fetal nervous system, the fetal heartbeat may sometimes be less than 120 beats/minute. Therefore, when there is an abnormal fetal heartbeat, it is necessary to carefully analyze the situation and make appropriate judgments and solutions. If there is indeed fetal intrauterine hypoxia, delivery should be performed as soon as possible.