What to do if the fetal heart rate is weak at 6 weeks of pregnancy

Fetal heart rate refers to the heartbeat of the fetus. A weak fetal heart rate is very dangerous for the fetus. If not handled properly, it may even affect the life safety of the fetus. Generally speaking, if the fetal heart rate is weak, you need to pay attention to the following: do not use drugs indiscriminately to protect the fetus, do not ignore pregnancy checkups, and do not blindly protect the fetus. Only by protecting the fetus reasonably can the double safety of adults and children be guaranteed. Of course, if necessary, an abortion operation should still be performed!

1. Normal range of fetal heart rate

The fetal heart rate is the heartbeat of the fetus, which can usually be heard in the abdomen with a normal stethoscope between 17 and 20 weeks. The fetal heart rate is 110-160 beats/min (People's Medical Publishing House, 8th edition). Sometimes it is faster and less regular. It becomes more regular towards the end of pregnancy. Sometimes there may be a brief pause in the heartbeat, or the heart rate may reach 180 beats per minute, which is normal. However, if this phenomenon occurs frequently or for a long time, you should seek medical attention in time.

The normal fetal heart rate is regular and strong, like the ticking of a clock, at 110-160 beats/minute. If it is <110 beats/minute or >160 beats/minute, you can listen to it again at intervals of 10-20 minutes. If it is still abnormal, it indicates fetal intrauterine hypoxia. If the fetal heart rate is within the abnormal range and is accompanied by irregular fetal heart rhythm, it indicates that the fetal hypoxia is more serious.

2. Abnormal manifestations of fetal heart rate

The normal fetal heart rate is between 110 beats/minute and 160 beats/minute. If the fetal heart rate remains <110/minute or >160/minute for more than 10 minutes, it indicates that the fetal heart rate is abnormal. The application of fetal heart monitors has become quite popular. During fetal heart monitoring, if an abnormality is found in the fetal heart graph, it is often used to indicate fetal heart abnormalities. In most cases, abnormal fetal heart rate means that the fetus is suffering from hypoxia in the uterus. The more severe the abnormal fetal heart rate, the more severe the fetal hypoxia. However, not all abnormal fetal heart rate is caused by hypoxia. In addition to the above situations, the condition of the pregnant woman herself also affects the changes in the fetal heart rate. For example, if the pregnant woman has a fever, the fetal heart rate will often exceed 160 beats/minute. If the pregnant woman has hyperthyroidism, her own heart rate is very fast, and the fetal heart rate often exceeds 160 beats/minute. If the pregnant woman takes certain medications, such as salbutamol taken during premature delivery, or atropine, it can cause the mother and child's heart rate to accelerate.

Fetal heart arrest is a symptom of fetal growth retardation and miscarriage. The occurrence of fetal growth retardation[1] is related to reproductive tract infection, endocrine abnormalities, embryonic chromosomal abnormalities, adverse environment, and drug effects. It is very important to do a good job of pre-pregnancy check-up. Early detection of these problems and timely treatment can effectively prevent the occurrence of fetal growth retardation.

3. What to do if the fetal heart rate is weak

1. Do not use drugs indiscriminately to protect pregnancy

It is important to prescribe the right medicine to protect the fetus. For example, late threatened abortion (pregnancy more than 3 months but less than 28 weeks) is mostly caused by relaxation of the internal os of the cervix. If you want to preserve the fetus, in addition to using tocolytic drugs, you should also use drugs that inhibit uterine contractions and other means of auxiliary treatment.

2. Don’t ignore pregnancy checkups

It is very important to check various antibody and hormone levels before pregnancy, but some pregnant women often ignore it. For women with recurrent miscarriage whose pre-pregnancy examinations show normal results, prenatal examinations are particularly important.

3. Don’t blindly protect the fetus

Some miscarriages in early pregnancy are natural selection, which prevents the birth of deformed babies. If you blindly preserve the fetus, you may end up preserving a fetus with chromosomal abnormalities or pathological or deformed fetuses. Therefore, if both or one of the couple has severe chromosomal abnormalities, they should not only not have children, but also not try to preserve the pregnancy.

Blindly preserving the fetus may not only have adverse effects on the fetus, but may also be harmful to the mother herself. Because the dead pregnancy products stay in the uterus for too long, it can cause serious coagulation disorders, increased vaginal bleeding and other problems. There are even cases where failure to perform a curettage and dilation surgery in a timely manner may lead to intrauterine infection, affecting future fertility.