What are the contents of the 32nd week of pregnancy check-up?

During pregnancy, there will always be some prenatal checkups for a period of time. The purpose of the prenatal checkups is to better observe the baby's condition in the mother's belly. But for some couples who have just had a baby, they are not quite sure what prenatal examinations they need to do. So, let’s take a look at what the prenatal check-up at 32 weeks of pregnancy contains. Let me give you a detailed introduction below. I hope that through my introduction, you can gain something.

Pregnancy check-up items at 32 weeks

You are 32 weeks pregnant and this week you will have your 7th prenatal check-up. In the prenatal check-up during the late pregnancy, in addition to fetal heart rate monitoring, fetal position checking is also very important.

1. Routine prenatal examination items:

Between weeks 28 and 36 of pregnancy, prenatal checkups are done every two weeks. Prenatal check-up items include routine items such as blood pressure, weight, uterine fundus height, abdominal circumference, fetal heart rate, fetal position, blood routine, and urine routine. These basic items are important monitoring indicators for expectant mothers' pregnancy care and help doctors have a more comprehensive understanding of the basic conditions of expectant mothers. In addition, starting from this week, fetal heart monitoring will be included in routine examinations.

2. Key prenatal examination items: fetal position examination

That is, to check the position of the fetus in the mother's uterus. The posture of the fetus in the womb before birth is very important, and in medicine, fetal position is also used as one of the bases for choosing the method of delivery. Malposition of the fetus can bring varying degrees of difficulty and danger to delivery. Timely detection of malposition of the fetus is conducive to early correction and is of great significance for the prevention of dystocia. The best time to adjust the fetal position is between 30 and 32 weeks of pregnancy.

1. The role of fetal position examination

The fetal position can usually be checked through B-ultrasound and palpation after 7 months of pregnancy. It can detect malpositions of the fetus including breech presentation, transverse presentation, posterior occiput presentation, and facial presentation. Correcting the fetal position early will help prevent dystocia. If the examination is done too late, and the malposition of the fetus is discovered after 34 weeks of pregnancy, it is unlikely that the fetal position can be adjusted at this time, and a caesarean section may be required.

2. Fetal position inspection method

Generally, doctors can determine the fetal position by observing the position of the fetal head and buttocks through the four-step palpation method, which is the most commonly used method during prenatal examinations. It can also be determined through B-ultrasound.

Four-step palpation method

Step 1: The examiner places both hands on the fundus of the uterus, measures the height of the fundus, and estimates whether the fetus is consistent with the gestational age; then the examiner gently pushes the fingertips against each other alternately to determine the position of the fetus at the fundus of the uterus.

Step 2: The examiner places his hands on the left and right sides of the abdomen respectively, with one hand fixing it and the other hand gently pressing deeply to check, alternating between the two hands from top to bottom.

Step 3: The examiner separates the thumb of his right hand from the other four fingers, places it above the pubic symphysis to hold the fetal presenting part, further confirms whether it is the fetal head or buttocks, and then pushes left and right to determine whether it is connected.

Step 4: The examiner places his left and right hands on both sides of the fetal presenting part, and presses deeply downward along the pelvic incision to further verify whether the judgment of the fetal presenting part is correct and determine the degree of the fetal presenting part into the pelvis.

Warm tips: When checking the fetal position, the expectant mother should lie on her back after urinating, slightly raise her head to expose her abdomen, and slightly bend and spread her legs to relax her abdomen.

3. Normal fetal position

In medicine, the occiput anterior position is called the normal fetal position, with the fetus's back facing forward and chest backward, hands crossed in front of the chest, legs curled up, head bent forward, and the occipital region lowest. During delivery, the head is the first to enter the pelvis, which is medically known as "head first presentation". This fetal position leads to smoother delivery.

LOA on the ultrasound examination report is the abbreviation of fetal position, L stands for the left side of the pelvis, the vertex presentation is "occipital", that is: "O", and the occipital anterior is "A"; so based on the above content we can know that the fetal position is occipital left anterior (LOA), occipital presentation, the occipital bone is on the left side of the pelvis, facing forward, then the fetal position is occipital left anterior (LOA), which is the most common fetal position and the best fetal position for normal delivery.

The contents of the prenatal check-up at 32 weeks of pregnancy have been well introduced in the above content. The purpose of the prenatal check-up is to understand whether the baby is developing healthily in the mother's belly during this period, and it can also give you a timely understanding of the pregnant woman's body. Therefore, understanding it will be of great help for future pregnancy.