Three situations of fetal heart rate deceleration

Fetal heart rate monitoring helps to observe the child's health. If the fetal heart rate changes, you must be alert. For example, there are three main types of fetal heart rate deceleration. Early deceleration, variable deceleration and late deceleration may be normal or may have some pathological causes. We must pay attention to this aspect. In order to ensure the healthy development of the fetus, it is very important to do a good job of fetal heart monitoring.

Three situations of fetal heart rate deceleration

1. Early deceleration: Deceleration begins almost simultaneously with uterine contraction, and the uterus returns to normal quickly after contraction. It is generally believed that the head is pressed during uterine contractions, which is a manifestation of temporary decrease in cerebral blood flow, which is not changed by the pregnant woman's body position or oxygen inhalation. 2. Variable deceleration: The relationship between deceleration and uterine contractions is not constant, the decline is large, the duration varies, and the recovery is also rapid. It is generally believed that this is caused by the compression of the umbilical cord and the excitation of the vagus nerve when the uterus contracts. Asking pregnant women to lie on their left side can alleviate the symptoms.

Can I wait if the fetal heart rate monitoring is normal?

Fetal heart rate monitoring is the abbreviation of fetal heart rate, fetal movement and uterine contraction chart. It is a graph that uses an electronic fetal heart rate monitor to record the fetal heart rate curve and uterine contraction pressure waveform for clinical analysis. Fetal heart monitoring is divided into two types: medical and home fetal heart monitoring, namely, regular monthly prenatal check-ups for 12 weeks, which includes hospital fetal heart monitoring, and home fetal heart monitoring in which pregnant women's families monitor the fetal heart rate independently.

There are mainly two lines on fetal heart monitoring. The upper one is the fetal heart rate, which fluctuates between 110-160 under normal circumstances. The general basal heart rate line appears as a wavy straight line. When fetal movement occurs, the heart rate will rise, and a curve that protrudes upward will appear. After the fetal movement ends, it will slowly decrease. A fetal movement count of >30 times/12 hours is normal, and <10 times every 12 hours indicates fetal hypoxia. The lower line represents the intrauterine pressure, which will increase during uterine contractions and then remain at around 20 mmHg.

Fetal heart rate monitoring is regulated by the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves. By recording the instantaneous changes in the fetal heart rate through the curve of the monitoring graph, we can understand the reaction of the fetal heart rate during fetal movement and uterine contraction, so as to infer whether the fetus in the uterus is suffering from hypoxia. In a normal pregnancy, fetal heart rate monitoring should be performed once a week starting from the 37th week of pregnancy. If there are comorbidities or complications, it can be performed from the 28th to 30th week of pregnancy. Attention should be paid to whether the rhythm of the fetal heart rate is fast or slow. The normal fetal heart rate is 110 to 160 beats/minute. If the fetal heart rate is above 160 beats/minute or lasts for 100 beats/minute, it indicates intrauterine fetal hypoxia and should be treated promptly.