Palpitation of the fetus during pregnancy

Studying the child's heartbeat is one of the most common methods of control. There are reasons for this, because keeping a heart rate (heart rate) in a normally developing child speaks about his well-being, and any violations can be a result of such serious illnesses as a violation of the placental circulation, which is a serious enough threat to the life of the fetus and requires careful diagnosis . In addition, to listen to the fetal heartbeat during pregnancy in addition to medical indicators, is also of great importance for the parents themselves. To hear for the first time how the baby's heart beats is an unforgettable experience, and also the evidence that he really lives and develops in the womb of the mother.

By the way, the palpitation of the fetus during pregnancy, the norm of which fluctuates 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. For this method, the obstetric stethoscope of Pinar is used. 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 the obstetrical stethoscope, modern methods of diagnosing heart rate let you hear the heart beat even to parents, 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 child in order to find the place where the sound is best to be heard, and then attach a tube or stethoscope to this place. The results of testing and depend only on the experience of the doctor. In addition, assessment of heart rate occurs only for a certain time, so it is not possible to document the data for evaluation and consultation with another specialist.

Another method of monitoring the child's heart is cardiotocography, which allows for continuous monitoring and recording where the fetal heart rate will be graphically recorded during pregnancy. CTG is performed late in pregnancy, around the thirty-eighth week and during labor. In addition, CTG provides an opportunity to record the systolic activity of the uterus and thus 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 as early as the sixth week of pregnancy.

The heart of the fetus in the womb starts to beat on the twenty-third day of intrauterine life, and the registration of its activity is possible only after several weeks of development and then, depending on the method used. A tiny heart beats faster than adults. The correct number is 110-150 beats per minute, while the norm for an adult is only 60-90 beats. Thus, frequent palpitations during pregnancy are perfectly normal indicators, which indicate that the fetus normally develops. A value below 110 indicates a bradycardia, and a value above 150 beats - on a tachycardia. Among the causes of bradycardia are low maternal blood pressure, low body temperature or hypoglycemia, as well as congenital heart defects in the child, placental insufficiency, harnessing the cord or spinal cord, or the use of certain medications.

Tachycardia can be caused by hypoxia of the fetus, fever in the mother, infection of amniotic fluid, anemia in the fetus, and the effect of certain medications. By monitoring the child's heart rate, it is possible to determine the acceleration of heart rate. This phenomenon is normal. However, the onset of inhibition may indicate a placental insufficiency or an umbilical cord disruption.