How serious is a 7-point fetal heart rate monitor?

Fetal heart monitoring can provide a good understanding of the fetus's condition. This method also has many advantages and is very simple. Fetal heart monitoring has certain scoring standards, and the best case is ten points. However, if there is a problem with the fetal heart rate, its score will also change, including a score of 7 points. So how serious is a 7 point fetal heart monitoring score?

The normal fetal heart rate changes all the time with the different intrauterine environments. Changes in fetal heart rate are a manifestation of the normal regulatory function of the central nervous system and a sign that the baby is in good condition in the uterus. The mission of fetal heart rate monitoring is to detect fetal abnormalities as early as possible, take effective emergency measures before the fetus suffers irreversible damage, deliver the newborn in time, and avoid injuries that affect its life. The condition of the fetus in the mother's body can be reflected by monitoring fetal movement and fetal heart rate. After 35 weeks of pregnancy, pregnant women should undergo fetal heart monitoring when they go to the hospital for prenatal check-ups every week.

We can see from the results of fetal heart monitoring that there are mainly two lines. The upper one is the fetal heart rate, which fluctuates between 120 and 160 under normal circumstances. The general basal heart rate line appears as a wavy straight line. When fetal movement occurs, the heart rate will rise, and a curve that protrudes upward will appear. After the fetal movement ends, it will slowly decrease. A fetal movement count of >30 times/12 hours is normal, and <10 times every 12 hours indicates fetal hypoxia. The lower line represents the intrauterine pressure, which will increase during uterine contractions and then remain at around 20 mmHg.

A full score means that the fetus is in good condition in the uterus within one week and there are no signs of hypoxia. If the score is between 8 and 7, it indicates suspected fetal hypoxia; if the score is below 7, it indicates intrauterine fetal hypoxia. If the fetal heart rate drops significantly when the fetus moves and returns to normal when the fetus is still, it is suspected that the umbilical cord is wrapped around the neck.

Generally, when there are no uterine contractions, the fetal heart rate monitor will place the probe on the pregnant woman's abdomen to observe changes in the fetal heart rate when the fetus is at rest and when it is moving. Since the fetal wake-sleep cycle is 20-40 minutes, the routine monitoring time is 20 minutes.

You can eat something before doing fetal heart monitoring, which is said to stimulate the fetus to move more. While there's no evidence that eating actually works, it can't hurt. It is best to go to the bathroom before doing this, because you may have to stay next to the fetal heart rate monitor for up to 40 minutes. When doing fetal heart monitoring, it is best to lie on your left side, and you can also put a backrest behind you.

If there is no response in the first 20 minutes, the measurement must be continued after moving the fetus, changing the pregnant woman's position, administering sound stimulation, taking sugar water, or injecting 60ml of 50% GS intravenously. To shorten the monitoring time, if there is no fetal movement after 10 minutes of monitoring, you can use one of the above methods to stimulate the fetus, and then wait 4-5 minutes before monitoring for a second 20 minutes. If fetal movement occurs and the fetal heart rate accelerates to the above standards, the monitoring can be terminated. If the standard is not met, the doctor will decide to re-examine in 1-3 days based on the specific situation.