Various methods are widely used to assess the fetal heart rate. For example, electrocardiography, phonocardiography, antenatal cardiotocography and, of course, auscultation, listening by a gynecologist on the couch.
Instructions
Step 1
Consult a gynecologist, depending on the duration of pregnancy, he will prescribe a method for listening to the fetal heartbeat and evaluate the results of the study. Fetal phonoelectrocardiography is a graphical recording of an electrocardiogram and a phonocardiogram that records sound phenomena. This method is very accurate, it allows you to determine the frequency and rhythm of heart contractions, to characterize individual heart sounds, to identify murmurs, to conduct a phase analysis of cardiac activity, reflecting the function of the myocardium.
Step 2
Lie on the couch and roll onto your side. This posture is necessary to avoid pressure on the inferior vena cava. The microphone will be fixed on the stomach in the place where the fetal heartbeat is best heard. One electrode is placed at the site of the projection of the fundus on the anterior abdominal wall, the other on the right thigh. To obtain sufficient information about the state of the fetus, ECG and PCG should be performed within 3-4 minutes.
Step 3
Ask your doctor to order an electrocardiogram if you are more than 15 weeks pregnant. Two versions of the technique are used. The first is that the electrode is inserted into the uterus, between the wall of the organ and the back of the fetus, this is a direct method. Indirect, abdominal, involves the location of the electrodes on the abdominal wall of the pregnant woman. The second method is used more often. With its help, it is not difficult to determine the heart rate, heart rate. Decryption is performed by a gynecologist. In healthy women with a physiologically normal course of pregnancy, 120-140 fetal heartbeats are recorded per minute.
Step 4
Get a procedure called cardiotocography. This is a synchronous recording of the fetal heartbeat and uterine contractions, which allows you to objectively assess the nature of the fetal cardiac activity and the activity of the mother's uterus. In childbirth, direct recording of CTG is possible using an electrode in the form of a spiral or staple, which is fixed to an accessible part of the fetus with an instrument after opening the fetal bladder.
Step 5
Lie on your side on the couch, recording is made for 40-60 minutes if the gestation period exceeds 32 weeks. In childbirth, recording is carried out at the beginning, middle and end of the first period and throughout the second. The interpretation of the results is carried out by a specialist. This method allows you to identify fetal bradycardia or tachycardia, that is, a decrease or increase in heart rate, which may indicate a violation of fetal homeostasis or hypoxia, oxygen starvation.
Step 6
Evaluate heart activity using various tests. So, a thermal test is to determine the heart rate after exposure to cold or heat on the skin of a pregnant woman. You can try to walk for 10-15 minutes before listening to the heartbeat. An exercise test can detect early signs of cardiac abnormalities.
Step 7
You can contact a specialist performing an ultrasound scan. With the help of a special sensor placed on the skin of the abdomen, the fetal heart rate is clearly recorded and the heart rate is recorded. A similar method is used in medicine from the 3rd week of pregnancy and allows you to establish the viability of the embryo in the early stages of development.
