Studying a baby's heartbeat is one of the most common control methods. There are reasons for this, because the preservation of the frequency of heart contractions (heart rate) in a normally developing child speaks of his well-being, and any disturbances can be the result of serious diseases such as impaired placental circulation, which is a rather serious threat to the life of the fetus and requires careful diagnosis . In addition, listening to the fetal heartbeat during pregnancy, in addition to medical indicators, is also of great importance for most parents. Hearing for the first time how the baby’s heart beats is an unforgettable experience, as well as evidence that he really lives and develops in the womb.
By the way, the fetal heart rate during pregnancy, the norm of which varies between 110-150 beats per minute, today can be established using various methods. The oldest of them, as well as the most subjective, is auscultation. The Pinar obstetric stethoscope is used for this method. This obstetric tube allows you to listen to the fetal heartbeat during pregnancy at 17-18 weeks, while modern methods reduce this period to 12 weeks.
Unlike an obstetric stethoscope, modern methods for diagnosing heart rate allow you to hear the beat of the heart even to parents, and not just to the doctor. To listen to the fetal heartbeat during pregnancy with a stethoscope, the doctor must first determine the position of the baby to find a place where the sound will be better heard, and then attach a tube or stethoscope to this place. Test results and depend only on the experience of the doctor. In addition, the assessment of heart rate occurs only for a certain time, so it is not possible to document data for evaluation and consultation with another specialist.
Another method of monitoring the work of the child’s heart is cardiotocography, which allows continuous monitoring and recording where the fetal heartbeat during pregnancy will be graphically recorded . CTG is performed in late pregnancy, approximately at the thirty-eighth week and during labor. In addition, CTG makes it possible to record the systological activity of the uterus and thereby allows you to interpret the heart rate of the child depending on the contractions of the uterus.
Another method that allows you to visualize the fetal heart rate is ultrasound. Undoubtedly, the fetal heartbeat during pregnancy with this test can be heard already in the sixth week of pregnancy.
The fetal heart in the womb begins to beat on the twenty-third day of fetal life, and registration of its activity is possible only after several weeks of development, and that, depending on the method used. A tiny heart beats faster than in adults. The correct amount is 110-150 beats per minute, while the norm for an adult is only 60-90 beats. Thus, a frequent heartbeat during pregnancy is a completely normal indicator, which indicates that the fetus is developing normally. A value below 110 indicates bradycardia, and a value above 150 strokes indicates tachycardia. Among the causes of bradycardia are the mother’s low blood pressure, low body temperature or hypoglycemia, as well as congenital heart defects in the child, placental insufficiency, oppression of the umbilical cord or spinal cord, or the use of certain medications.
Tachycardia can be caused by fetal hypoxia, maternal fever, amniotic fluid infection, fetal anemia, and the effects of certain medications. By monitoring the baby’s heart rate, one can determine the acceleration of the heart rate. This phenomenon is normal. However, inhibition may indicate placental insufficiency or impaired umbilical cord flow.