You can measure the heart rate, or, more simply, the pulse, in children in the same way as in an adult. This can be done either by probing the pulse, or with the help of special devices. It will be more difficult to measure the heartbeat of a baby in the womb.
Necessary
- - tonometer
- - echocardiography
- - obstetric statoscope.
Instructions
Step 1
Rhythmic beats of the heart are quite well felt on the neck on the right side, where a large blood artery passes. It is enough just to put your hand on this place and you immediately feel light tapping in this area. You don't have to keep counting these hits for a full minute. It is enough to count the beats for fifteen seconds and then multiply by 4. This will be an accurate measurement of your heart rate. Also, the pulse is felt well on both wrists. The measuring principle is the same here as for the neck.
Step 2
If there is a tonometer at home, then the pulse measurement is faster and more accurate. But it is better to take average readings. It is necessary to measure the pulse three times with the device and then calculate the arithmetic mean (all three readings are added and divided by three). This measurement will be the most accurate.
Step 3
The situation with measuring the heartbeat of a child in the womb is more complicated. It is impossible to feel it on your own without the help of a specialist. But doctors have special devices for this kind of measurements. At the very beginning of pregnancy, such measurements are taken during regular routine ultrasound examinations. This is included in the mandatory medical examination of the mother and the heart of their child.
Step 4
Another examination of the heart muscle, in which pulse measurements are required, is echocardiography. This examination is usually prescribed for obvious heart problems in the fetus. In the normal course of pregnancy and the development of the child in the womb, such an examination is unnecessary.
