Fetal Heart Rate

Expectant Parents Warned Over Use of Fetal Heart Rate Monitors

Young expectant parents are being advised by many medical professionals not to use hand-held home use fetal heart rate monitors (an instrument better known as the Doppler) in order to listen to the baby’s heartbeat over (justified) fears that these sophisticated medical instruments can lead to delays in seeking medical help for reduced fetal movements (RFM) which can represent a warning sign that the unborn child is small for gestation or unwell. Therefore, expectant mothers who report reduced fetal movements have to be investigated thoroughly.

In one article in the British Medical Journal, Dr Thomas Aust (MD Obstetrician/Gynecologist) and his colleague physicians from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Arrowe Park Hospital, Wirral describe the case of a young twenty seven year old woman who presented to their labor ward thirty two weeks into her first pregnancy with reduced fetal movements.

She had first noted a reduction in the unborn child’s activity 2 days earlier, however, had used her own home use fetal Doppler instrument to listen to her unborn child’s heart beating and reassured herself that all was okay.

Further fetal heart rate monitoring by the prenatal care team wasn’t reassuring. So, the child was delivered by C-section later that night. The newborn remained on the special care newborn room for two months and is making steady progress.

Fetal Doppler instrument assesses the presence of an unborn child’s heart beating only at that moment and it’s used by obstetricians as well as trained midwives in order to check for viability or for intermittent monitoring throughout the labor, say the authors. In inexperienced hands it’s much more likely that blood flow through the placenta or the pregnant woman’s main blood vessels will be heard.

Following this specific case, they searched the Web and found that a hand-held home use Doppler instrument could be rented for $15 per one month or bought for as little as $40 to $70. Even though the companies offering sales state that the instrument isn’t intended to replace advised prenatal diagnosis, manufacturers make claims like: “Expectant parents will be able to locate and listen to the heart beating with amazing clarity.”

It’s quite hard to say whether self monitoring altered the outcome in this particular instance, explain the authors. On the other hand, they now have posters in their antenatal areas advising that expectant parents don’t use these instruments.

Leave a Comment September 16, 2010

Benefits of a Fetal Heart Rate Monitor

Once you are with child, the one thing you wish the most is to find out exactly what is happening with the precious one developing inside of you. In case you’ve had problems or spontaneous abortion in prior pregnancies, you might actually be extra keen to find out whether the little one is well and in good condition. If you have to wait between regular medical check-ups to hear the baby’s heart beating, you might become anxious. Fortunately, you are able to check on the baby via the hand-held fetal heart rate monitor at the convenience of your home.

During medical check-ups, you have probably been excited to hear the little one’s heartbeats. To ensure that you to hear the baby’s heart beating, the physician uses an instrument often referred to as Doppler or fetal heart rate monitor. That instrument uses a probe to identify high frequency sound waves which are produced by the child’s heart.

Since those sound waves are not simply detected in standard circumstances, an oil or gel is spread on the stomach. After that, the probe is moved around this area until the baby’s heartbeat is detected. As soon as the sound-waves are detected, they’re sent from the probe right to the instrument that amplifies the sound so that you can hear it.

From the 8th week of pregnancy, it’s possible to detect the child’s heart beating. Even tough the baby’s is checked at regular medical check-ups, in case you’ve had several spontaneous abortions or uncommon complications which occur during pregnancy in previous pregnancies, you might be a very anxious about having to wait that much time to see that the child okay. Basically, this is the main reason why a lot of manufactures have started to produce fetal heart rate monitors for home use.

One such instrument at home can provide expectant mothers with relaxation and assurance that the pregnancy is developing normally. Furthermore, this small yet effective device can give peace of mind to young mothers and fathers who’re experiencing problems in the pregnancy since it can help to alert you if there’s a major problem with the child. Mothers who have to frequently visit the ER because of the problems in the pregnancy may find that it actually helps to cut down the number of trips they have to make.

A fetal heart rate monitor is basically a hand-held instrument which is usually easy to use. Ones designed for home use as a rule work on batteries. In case you’re using one of those instruments, it is possible to begin trying to hear the child’s heart beating as soon as two months even though the great majority of expectant mothers and fathers will not be able to detect the heartbeat until the tenth week to third month of pregnancy. Furthermore, the majority of home-use types of instruments enable you to record the sound of the baby’s heart rate. With just one click, you can download results to the PC as a unique memento of the pregnancy.

Leave a Comment May 9, 2010