Interpreting FHR Patterns
- 1. Evaluate recording—is it continuous and adequate for interpretation?
- 2. Identify type of monitor used—external versus internal, first-generation versus second-generation.
- 3. Identify baseline fetal heart rate and presence of variability, both long-term and beat-to-beat (short-term).
- 4. Determine whether accelerations or decelerations from the baseline occur.
How do you read a fetal heart rate on a monitor?
When you're looking at the screen, the fetal heart rate is usually on the top and the contractions at the bottom. When the machine prints out graph paper, you'll see the fetal heart rate to the left and the contractions to the right. Sometimes it's easier to read printouts by looking at them sideways.
What should I do after external fetal heart rate monitoring?
You do not need any special care after external fetal heart monitoring. You may go back to your normal diet and activity unless your healthcare provider tells you otherwise. After internal fetal heart rate monitoring, your healthcare provider will check your baby’s scalp for infection, bruising, or a cut.
What is the history of fetal heart rate monitoring?
Electronic fetal heart rate monitoring (EFM) was first introduced at Yale University in 1958. 1 Since then, continuous EFM has been widely used in the detection of fetal compromise and the assessment of the influence of the intrauterine environment on fetal welfare.
What is the normal range of FHR?
The normal FHR baseline should range between 110 beats/min to 160 beats/min. The baseline FHR is normally set by the atrial pacemaker and the beat-to-beat differences in the heart rate are governed by a balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system.
How do you read a fetal heartbeat on ultrasound?
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What heartbeat means a girl?
This theory states that if the fetal heart rate is above 140 beats per minute (BPM), then the baby is more likely to be a girl. If the heart rate is below 140 BPM then the chances are that the baby will be a boy.
What is the normal range for FHR?
Your healthcare provider may do fetal heart monitoring during late pregnancy and labor. The average fetal heart rate is between 110 and 160 beats per minute.
Is 156 a good heart rate for baby?
Current international guidelines recommend for the normal fetal heart rate (FHR) baseline different ranges of 110 to 150 beats per minute (bpm) or 110 to 160 bpm.
Is 147 BPM a boy or girl?
If the fetal heart rate is under 140 beats per minute (BPM), it's a boy. False. A baby girl's heart rate is usually faster than a boy's, but only after the onset of labor. There's no difference between fetal heart rates for boys and girls, but the rate does vary with the age of the fetus.
Is 142 BPM a boy or girl?
If it's over 140 bpm, you're having a baby girl. Below 140 bpm, you're carrying a boy. The truth is, your baby's heart will likely start beating sometime around week 6 of your pregnancy. You can even see and measure this flicker of light on an ultrasound.
Is 170 heart rate too high for fetus?
The normal fetal heart rate is between 120 and 160 beats per minute. Typically, an abnormally fast heart rate is over 200 beats per minute.
Is 134 a good heart rate for baby?
A normal fetal heart rate (FHR) usually ranges from 120 to 160 beats per minute (bpm) in the in utero period.
What causes high FHR?
A very fast heart rate may be caused by abnormal firing of the nerves that are responsible for the heartbeat. If the heart beats too fast, contractions are shallow and not enough blood is pumped with each heartbeat. As a result, the fetus can go into heart failure.
Can you tell gender with heartbeat?
An average fetal heart rate ranges from 110 to 160 beats per minute (bpm) and changes when the baby is active. Some babies have heart rates that are slower or faster than average. But this has nothing to do with the sex of your baby. “The fetal heart rate does not predict the sex of the baby,” says Dr.
Who has faster heartbeat boy or girl?
Many myths surround the sex of an unborn baby. One is that, early in pregnancy, unborn boys have faster heartbeats than girls. There is no evidence that this is true. Studies have shown that there is no difference between male and female fetal heart rates.
What does a baby heart rate of 140 mean?
Normal ranges for FHR are 120 to 160 bpm. Many international guidelines define ranges of 110 to 160 bpm which seem to be safe in daily practice.
Can you tell gender by the heartbeat?
An average fetal heart rate ranges from 110 to 160 beats per minute (bpm) and changes when the baby is active. Some babies have heart rates that are slower or faster than average. But this has nothing to do with the sex of your baby. “The fetal heart rate does not predict the sex of the baby,” says Dr.
Can you tell gender from heartbeat?
Several studies have been done regarding fetal heart rate. The evidence shows there is no difference in the average of female or male fetal heart rates. The baby's heart rate also changes throughout the pregnancy with higher heart rates noted at the beginning of pregnancy.”
Does heartbeat predict gender?
There is no evidence that this is true. Studies have shown that there is no difference between male and female fetal heart rates. A healthcare professional can make an educated prediction about a baby's sex during an ultrasound. This is only possible from around the 18th week of pregnancy.
Who has faster heartbeat boy or girl?
A 2006 study showed no sex-related differences in fetal heart rate during the first trimester, but Mass says that's no surprise, considering that babies' hearts beat faster in general during the first 28 to 30 weeks of pregnancy. It's later in the pregnancy when the difference becomes apparent.
What is the best way to check the heart rate of a baby?
External fetal heart monitoring. This method uses a device to listen to and record your baby’s heartbeat through your belly (abdomen). One type of monitor is a Doppler ultrasound device. It’s often used during prenatal visits to count the baby’s heart rate. It may also be used to check the fetal heart rate during labor.
How to check heart rate of baby during labor?
The healthcare provider may also check your baby’s heart rate continuously during labor and birth. To do this, the ultrasound probe (transducer) is fastened to your belly. It sends the sounds of your baby’s heart to a computer. The rate and pattern of your baby’s heart rate are shown on a screen and printed on paper.
What is fetal heart monitoring?
Fetal heart rate monitoring measures the heart rate and rhythm of your baby (fetus). This lets your healthcare provider see how your baby is doing.
What happens during fetal heart monitoring?
You may have fetal heart rate monitoring in your healthcare provider's office or as part of a hospital stay. The way the test is done may vary depending on your condition and your healthcare provider's practices.
How to check uterine pressure?
To do this, he or she will put a thin tube (catheter) through your cervix and into your uterus. The catheter will send uterine pressure readings to a monitor.
What is fetal heart rate?
Fetal heart rate monitoring may be used to check how preterm labor medicines are affecting your baby. These are medicines are used to help keep labor from starting too early. Fetal heart rate monitoring may be used in other tests, including: Nonstress test. This measures the fetal heart rate as your baby moves.
Why is fetal heart rate monitoring important?
Fetal heart rate monitoring is especially helpful if you have a high-risk pregnancy. Your pregnancy is high risk if you have diabetes or high blood pressure. It is also high risk if your baby is not developing or growing as it should.
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Where is the fetal heart rate on a graph paper?
When you're looking at the screen, the fetal heart rate is usually on the top and the contractions at the bottom. When the machine prints out graph paper, you'll see the fetal heart rate to the left and the contractions to the right. Sometimes it's easier to read printouts by looking at them sideways.
What does the top and bottom of the heart rate graph line up with?
Combining both the top and bottom (x and y-axes), the graphs line up with the heart rate directly above a contraction that is happening at the same time.
What is the advantage of electronic fetal monitoring?
An advantage of electronic monitoring over the fetoscope method was that it could be done without requiring the provider to be at the patient's bedside. Here's a quick overview of how electronic fetal monitoring is used, as well as how to interpret what you see (and hear) on the monitor.
How long has fetal monitoring been around?
Fetal monitoring, in one form or another, has been around for a long time—over 350 years, in fact. 1 Prior to the 1970s, a healthcare provider (usually a doctor, nurse, or midwife) would use a stethoscope designed for pregnancy (fetoscope) to listen to the heart sounds (auscultation) of a fetus. The technology for electronic fetal monitoring ...
Why do we need fetal monitoring?
When you're in labor, fetal monitoring helps your healthcare team monitor how your baby is coping. There are different types of fetal monitoring, and the kind you will need will depend on your situation, as well as your provider's preference.
What does the blue axis on a heart rate chart mean?
On the left-hand side of the image above, you'll see a y-axis in each of the graphs. The blue indicator shows the marking of the fetal heart rate. These are beats per minute (bpm), which are measured in increments of 10 with markings every 30 beats.
When did electronic fetal monitoring start?
The technology for electronic fetal monitoring arrived in the 1960s and 1970s but had to undergo reliability testing before hospitals and clinics started to use it. Electronic fetal monitors provided a graph (on a paper printout at first, and later, on a computer screen) that showed how a fetus's heart rate responded to contractions. 2
What is the normal FHR range?
The normal FHR baseline should range between 110 beats/min to 160 beats/min. The baseline FHR is normally set by the atrial pacemaker and the beat-to-beat differences in the heart rate are governed by a balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system.
What is the purpose of FHR?
Accurate fetal heart rate (FHR) assessment may help in determining the status of the fetus and indicate management steps for a particular condition. In order to accurately assess a FHR pattern, a description of the pattern should include qualitative and quantitative information in the following five areas:
How to learn about labor?
In addition to monitoring fetal heart rate patterns, information about the effects of labor on the fetus can also be learned by observing the pattern of uterine contractions. Uterine contraction patterns can provide information about the progress of labor. Also, because uterine contractions can affect placental exchange, evaluation of contraction patterns may provide clues as to the potential effects of the contraction rate and force on the fetus.
What is the normal FHR for a midterm fetus?
As the central nervous system matures, the baseline FHR gradually drops, and the normal ranges for a mid-trimester fetus are between 150-170 beats/min. Parasympathetic tone becomes more dominant with advancing gestational age, and a post-term fetus may have a FHR between 110-120 beats/min.
What is the role of the sympathetic nervous system in the fetal heart rate?
These systems exert their control via the cerebral cortex , the medulla oblongata, the sympathetic ganglia and the vagus nerve. The interaction between these systems results in a difference in the beat-to-beat intervals resulting in variability of the fetal heart rate tracing. In the term fetus, moderate variability is considered normal as it indicates a normally functioning central nervous system. Conditions that alter the integrity of this neuro-cardiac axis, such as hypoxemia, result in loss of heart rate variability. Variability therefore, is the single most important indicator of an adequately oxygenated fetus. Below is example of moderate variability.
Is FHR acceleration good or bad?
FHR accelerations and good (moderate) variability are closely associated and sometimes may be visually indistinguishable, though both are reflective of a well-oxygenated fetus.
Is FHR periodic or episodic?
Accelerations of the FHR may be periodic (that is, occurring in relation to a contraction) or episodic (no association with a contraction). Most are episodic. These episodic accelerations are generally in response to fetal movement, with a need for increased perfusion, and therefore transiently increased sympathetic tone, or due to fetal stimulation, such as scalp stimulation with a vaginal exam, abdominal palpation, or vibroacoustic stimulation.
Which side of the graph is the fetal heart rate?
Graph paper that is printed has the fetal heart rate to the left and the contractions to the right. Though it is often easier to read these by looking at them sideways so that they resemble the graph above. Advertisements.
What is electronic fetal monitoring?
Electronic fetal monitoring came onto the scene before being thoroughly tested for reliability, but the premise behind it was that it would provide a graph to see how the baby’s heart rate responded in conjunction with a contraction. It also allowed the monitoring to be done without one on one care at the bedside.
What is fetal monitoring?
Fetal monitoring, in one form or another, has been around for a very long time. Prior to the 1970s, fetal monitoring was typically done with a person listening to your baby with a special stethoscope designed for use in pregnancy, often called a fetoscope. (This is called auscultation .)
What is the red indicator on a computer monitor?
Here you see the fetal heart rate marked with the blue indicator. The red indicator is showing the mother’s contractions.
What does the blue axis on a heart chart mean?
On the left-hand side, there is the y axis in each of the graphs. The blue indicator is showing you the marking for the fetal heart rate. These are beats per minute (bpm), measured in increments of ten with markings every 30 beats.
Is there a right type of fetal monitoring for every woman?
The truth is that there is not one right type of fetal monitoring for every woman. The amount of time between checking on the baby and labor will differ from woman to woman, and even labor to labor. If you are having a high-risk labor, you will likely need to have continuous fetal monitoring. This can include:
Can fetal monitoring be done internally?
Today’s fetal monitoring has a variety of ways it can be done. It can be done externally or internally. It can be done continuously or intermittently.
