After entering the third trimester, we will add a mandatory obstetric examination item "fetal heart monitoring" to our obstetric examination program. Fetal electronic monitoring can continuously observe and record the dynamic changes of fetal heart rate (FHR), and can also understand the relationship between fetal heart rate and fetal movement and contractions, and estimate the intrauterine safety of the fetus. And until before the birth, many pregnant mothers have bought fetal heartbeats at home, and they can also listen to fetal heartbeats at home every day.
Is it possible to replace fetal heart rate monitoring? The answer is: No!
The importance of fetal heart rate monitoring
In fact, the significance of fetal heart monitoring is not just to listen to the baby's fetal heart rate, first let's see what is fetal heart rate monitoring? Why do it?
The full name of fetal heart rate monitoring is "fetal heart rate fetal motion uterine thumbnail", that is, the fetal heart rate electronic monitor is used to record the baby's fetal heart rate curve and fetal motion uterine contraction pressure waveform for clinical analysis.
Fetal heart rate monitoring is not just as simple as listening to the baby's heartbeat, but a comprehensive reaction of fetal heart rate, uterine contraction, and fetal movement. Through the results of fetal heart rate monitoring, the doctor can understand the reaction of the fetal heart rate when the baby has fetal movements and the pregnant mother has contractions, so as to speculate whether the baby has hypoxia in the womb in order to make a diagnosis. Therefore, it is necessary to do fetal heart rate monitoring.
When do fetal heart rate monitoring start?
Under normal circumstances, expectant mothers will increase the fetal heart rate monitoring from 33 weeks of pregnancy, once a week, for about 20 minutes each time. If the expectant mother has comorbidities or complications during pregnancy, she can start as early as 28-30 weeks of pregnancy on the advice of a doctor.
Ps: Expectant mothers also need fetal heart monitoring before giving birth to detect intrauterine distress in time and reduce neonatal asphyxia and mortality. As for whether you need to wear a fetal heart monitor for the entire delivery process, just follow the doctor's advice.
What preparations should be made before fetal heart rate monitoring?
Try to relax and eliminate tension to ensure accurate results.
It is best to choose a time period when the baby is relatively active, otherwise the baby falling asleep is likely to affect the results of fetal heart rate monitoring. If this happens, it is generally arranged for the mother-to-be to do it again.
Do not fast, you can eat some dessert half an hour before fetal heartbeat monitoring, which will help your baby become active.
Before doing fetal heart rate monitoring, it is best for expectant mothers to go to the toilet to empty the bladder to prevent going to the toilet halfway and causing redo.
Try to choose a comfortable position, so that you and your baby are in a more relaxed state, which will be more conducive to the accuracy of the results.
Fetal heart rate monitor ≠ fetal heart rate monitor
Usually, the home fetal heartpiece purchased by pregnant mothers in the market can only hear the baby's instantaneous heart rate, but cannot reflect the relationship between the fetal heart rate and contractions and fetal movements, and it is difficult to judge whether the baby has intrauterine hypoxia.
Fetal heart rate meter and fetal heart rate monitor are two completely different products, and the results obtained are also different, so even if there is a fetal heart rate at home, it cannot replace the fetal heart monitoring that comes to the hospital every week.
Tips:
There is indeed a small fetal heart rate monitor on the market, during the special period of the epidemic, some pregnant mothers must have moved to buy a home to do their own thoughts, but it should be noted that after doing fetal heart rate monitoring at home, it is still necessary to ask professionals to help interpret the data Oh ~ ~
Golden Partner: fetal heart rate monitoring + several fetal movements
The perfect partner to monitor the baby's health, one is fetal heart monitoring, and the other half is the number of fetal movements! It can even be said in a sense that the number of fetal movements is more important than fetal heartbeat monitoring!
For the right mother, this is the easiest and most intuitive way to self-monitor your baby's health.
Even with the assistance of fetal heartbeat monitoring, expectant mothers cannot relax the number of fetal movements. Because the abnormal condition of the fetus is first manifested in the fetal movement, it is likely that it will be too late to intervene when the fetal heart monitoring hears the abnormality. Therefore, fetal heart rate monitoring + several fetal movements can be called a perfect combination.
The method of counting fetal movements
Every day, one hour is fixed in the morning, middle and evening to count an hour, and at least three times the fetal movement is normal. Less than three times, or one-third less fetal movement than usual, you have to go to the hospital to do a fetal examination, do fetal Doppler examination, and rule out the possibility of fetal hypoxia.