Fetal Heart Rate QA
How do I distinguish my baby’s heartbeat from mine?
The easiest and most effective way to distinguish your heartbeat from your baby’s is to count your baby’s heart rate by using fetal Doppler. The baby’s heart rate is normally within a range of 120 to 180 BPM.
On the other hand, expectant mother’s heart rate is much lower, which is 60 to 100 BPM.
Please note that your baby’s BPM, like adults, varies at different activity levels.
In what way can I get baby’s fetal heart rate by using fetal Doppler?
For fetal Dopplers without a display, such as Sonotrax Lite model, you can listen to fetal heart beats and count the beats for 10 seconds or 15 seconds. And then calculate BPM (beats per minute) by multiplying the beats by 6 or 4 (10 seconds multiplied by 6 equals 60 seconds, or 15 seconds multiplied by 4 equals 60 seconds – one minute).
For fetal Dopplers with a display, such as Sonotrax Basic model, you can read the BPM directly on the screen.
What is the normal fetal heart rate of my unborn baby?
Normally, the fetal heart rate is between 120 to 180 beats per minute (BPM). BPM can vary as the fetal movement may influence BPM during the day. Also BPM changes at different pregnancy periods. While the fetal heart rate changes due to various conditions, but it is normal as far as the beats are within the range. With the progress of your pregnancy and the growth of your baby, the heart rate will be more static. If you have something uncertain, please talk to your healthcare professionals.
Why do we need to monitor fetal heart rate?
Fetal Heart Monitoring is the way that the doctor or yourself may use to monitor the condition of the fetus by listening to the fetal heart rate and keep track of the FHR (fetal heart rate of the baby – fetus) during the pregnancy.
By using fetal Doppler with 3MHz probe, you can listen to the fetal heart beat as early as 8-week pregnancy. This can help you to make sure that the developing fetus is in healthy condition and make you relieved from stress.
Furthermore, fetal heart rate monitoring can prevent miscarriage and decrease the miscarriage percentage in pregnancies from 15 percent to the 1 percent under monitoring of fetal heart beat.
Does stress do harm to my fetus and affect FHR ?
The answer is YES.
If you worry about your fetus’ health and keep anxious all the way during your pregnancy, FHR will be affected and the risk of low-birth weight infant as well as premature birth will increase consequently. Last but not the least, pregnancy stress can eventually induce the baby’s withdrawal behavior and affect normal functioning in life as he grows up.
If you are able to listen to your fetus’ heart rate with a fetal Doppler, it would be a safe method for you to relieve yourself from stress and anxiety caused from unknowns during pregnancy.
Can I get to know the gender of my fetus by listening to fetal heart rate?
Some people get the idea that a boy’s fetal heart beat is slower than a girl’s, which arises from an old wives’ tale. The reason is that the boy is bigger so his heart rate is slower, which is not the truth. With the growth of your baby and the progress of your gestation, the FHB becomes slower and static, but within the range from 120 to 180 beats. If you want to know the exact sex of your baby, the accurate method is ---- birth.
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