Fetal heart rate monitoring does not fluctuate much

Is it normal to see small fluctuations in fetal heart rate monitoring? Fetal heart rate monitoring is based on the signal curve graph of fetal heartbeat changes. Doctors can understand the reaction of fetal heartbeat when the baby moves and the uterus contracts, and thus infer whether the fetus is suffering from oxygen deficiency. If the fetal heart rate monitoring fluctuates for hours, doctors usually require pregnant women to receive oxygen. If the fetal heart rate monitoring fluctuates for several hours, doctors usually recommend that pregnant mothers receive oxygen. Generally, small fluctuations will not have a significant impact on the fetus. As long as the pregnant mother pays attention to maintaining a stable mood and insists on counting fetal movements at home, there will be no big problem.

Fetal heart rate monitoring is the general name for fetal heartbeat, fetal movement and uterine contraction chart. It is an important test method to accurately assess the situation of the fetus in the uterine cavity. According to the signal curve graph of fetal heartbeat changes, doctors can understand the reaction of fetal heartbeat when the fetus moves and the uterus contracts, and thus infer whether the fetus is suffering from oxygen deficiency. There are mainly two channels in fetal heart monitoring. The upper one is the fetal heart rate, which fluctuates between 120-160 under normal circumstances. It is usually manifested as a basic heartbeat line that appears as a wavy straight line. When the baby moves, the heartbeat will increase, forming an upward convex curve. It will gradually decrease after the baby's fetal movement ends. The fetal movement count >30 times/12 hours is normal, and <10 times every 12 hours reminds the fetus of intrauterine hypoxia. The lower line shows the intrauterine pressure, which increases when the uterus contracts and then remains around 20 MmHg.

The fetus will have its own activity habits in the uterine cavity. Some mothers feel that their abdomen is never still, and some mothers never feel that their abdomen moves strongly. This is related to the temperament of the baby. Therefore, we can only consider the condition of the baby in the uterine cavity by counting fetal movements regularly. If the baby has always moved less and with less force, then as long as the daily deviation is not large, there will generally be no abnormalities. If the frequency of sudden more or less movements is very high, then it needs to be taken seriously.

Ways to monitor fetal heartbeat at home

At present, the way to monitor the fetal heartbeat at home is to purchase auscultation, fetal heartbeat (sound) meter, fetal language meter, etc. for monitoring, and you can also detect it by counting fetal movements.

1. Auscultation monitoring: The price of auscultation is relatively low, but there are certain technical requirements for finding the location of the fetal heart. The fetal heartbeat is small and it is not easy for ordinary people to find it. The fetal heart should be listened to under the guidance of professional staff.

2. Fetal heartbeat (sound) meter/fetal talk meter monitoring: These two types of ECG monitors use Doppler lung auscultation technology, which can be used to listen to the fetal heart, and some can display the fetal heart rate through LED or LCD screen; the fetal talk meter is a smart product that can detect the fetal heartbeat at home and is used to listen to and record fetal sounds; it counts the fetal heart rate and fetal movements, and its functions are more complete than traditional ones, but it must be connected to a mobile phone app and is suitable for pregnant women with Apple and Android phones.

3. Counting fetal movements: Counting fetal movements for monitoring is also a very effective and simple method with a relatively high accuracy rate. Most doctors strongly recommend pregnant mothers to use this method. Normally, the baby's fetal movement is not less than 3-5 times per hour, and the number of obvious fetal movements in 12 hours is more than 30-40 times. If the number of fetal movements in 12 hours is less than 10 times, it belongs to decreased fetal movement, and you should carefully find the cause and go to the hospital for fetal heart monitoring when necessary.

4. Listen to the fetal heart: You can ask the doctor to tell you the location of the fetal heart during the prenatal check-up, and then have your family members put their hands close to the fetal heart at the abdomen to listen to the fetal heart. Usually, do this three times a day at home, in the morning, noon, and evening, each time for 2-3 minutes, to check whether the fetal heart rate is within the normal range (within 120-160 beats/minute), so that you can understand the health of the fetus.