What is Fetal Monitoring?
What is Fetal Monitoring?
Types of Fetal Monitoring (External Monitoring)?
Auscultation
Nonstress Test
What If The Fetal Heart Rate Pattern is Abnormal?
What is Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring?
Fetal monitoring measures the heart rate of a developing baby and traces uterine contractions using fetal monitors and dopplers. Healthcare providers can monitor the baby’s heart rate to ensure it’s not abnormal. Fetal monitoring is especially important for high-risk pregnancies to detect any changes in the fetal heart rate.
Types of Fetal Monitoring (External Monitoring)?
External fetal monitoring tracks the baby’s heart rate and determines the strength and duration of the mother’s contractions. The 2 methods of external fetal monitoring during pregnancy are auscultation and nonstress tests.
Auscultation
Auscultation is the practice of listening to the fetal heartbeat through the mother’s abdomen using a fetoscope or a doppler. Fetoscopes use acoustic sound amplification to detect heartbeats. Fetal dopplers are handheld devices that measure fetal heart rate using ultrasound waves around 10-12 weeks into pregnancy.
Doctors typically use auscultation in low-risk pregnancies. For higher risk pregnancies, physicians may switch to electronic fetal monitoring.
Nonstress Test (NST)
Nonstress Tests (NST) are 20 to 30 minute tests that monitor fetal heart rate, movement and contractions using a transducer and fetal monitor. Additionally, electronic fetal monitoring can detect abnormal fetal heart rate patterns, such bradycardia and tachycardia. To learn how to read a nonstress test, click here.
What If The Fetal Heart Rate Pattern is Abnormal?
An abnormal fetal heart rate may indicate that the baby isn’t receiving enough oxygen. However, fetal arrhythmias are typically temporary and don’t always mean there is a present issue. A doctor may order a fetal echocardiogram to diagnose and treat promptly.
