A fetal heart rate monitor is exactly what it sounds like: a device that tracks your baby's heart rate during labor and birth. Changes in your baby's heart rate can indicate fetal distress, which can turn a basic labor and birth into a risky...
Fetal heart rate monitoring is done periodically throughout pregnancy and sometimes continuously or intermittently during labor. Listening to your baby's heart during pregnancy can reassure you and your health care provider that the baby is doing...
Once your baby is born, you'll have plenty of time to savor his sweet baby smell or give him baby tickles, but in the meantime, you can help make the time pass more quickly and satisfy your curiosity during pregnancy by getting to know your little...
Every time you go for a prenatal visit, the medical staff will check and document both your pulse rate and your baby's pulse rate. Doing so helps detect potential problems in both mother and baby. Still, if you're not accustomed to checking your...
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have developed guidelines of what is considered a normal fetal heart rate and an abnormal fetal heart rate. Fetal heart rate is often referred to as FHR. Your doctor will monitor your baby's...
The use of fetal monitors to monitor fetal rate began at Yale University in 1958. Today, most hospitals use fetal monitoring as a standard component of the labor and delivery process. Fetal monitoring can provide valuable information, such as...
Fetal monitoring refers to watching and listening to the heart rate of a fetus, while still in the mother's womb. The fetal monitor was introduced in 1958 at Yale University, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. Some fetal...
Checking the fetal heart rate gives important clues into an unborn baby's health and well being. Even as early as 6 weeks into a pregnancy, assessing the fetal heartbeat can help doctors determine if potential problems with the pregnancy exist....
Medical advances in technology continue to make monitoring fetal development easier, as well as help detect health problems early in the pregnancy to protect both the mother and the baby. One of the most common devices used for this purpose is the...
Pregnancy is a time of happy anticipation, but it can also be a time of worry. Every mother is concerned about her baby's health and the sound of a healthy heartbeat brings great relief. Relief can easily turn to anxiety if you think the heartbeat...
Exercise during pregnancy provides many psychological and physical benefits. Psychologically, mothers-to-be who exercise benefit from increased self-esteem and feelings of independence and peace. Physically, they can experience increases in...
Baby heart rate monitors, also known as fetal heart rate monitors or doppler, are used by many women during their pregnancies. It is now possible to hear the babies heartbeat at home between appointments which may ease any fears or concerns a...
Monitoring the fetal heart rate is essential to tracking your baby's growth and development during pregnancy. While in the womb, your baby's heart rate should be 120 and 160 beats per minute, according to MedlinePlus. The heart rate may rise when...
Bouncing soundwaves through the pregnant uterus and measuring the feedback produces an image of the fetus. Ultrasound pictures are extremely detailed, and are safer than X-rays. Hand-held dopplers use the same technology to "hear" the unborn...
During your pregnancy, your doctor will likely use a doppler instrument to listen to your baby's heartbeat at each prenatal appointment. Should something sound different to him, he may order a non-stress test or a half-hour monitoring of your...
A baby sonogram, also known as an ultrasound, is a common procedure during a pregnancy. Sonograms emit high frequency sound waves from a transducer placed on the mother's abdomen. The fetus is scanned by rays of repetitive ultrasound beams that...
Even in the modern age with the technology and tools to tell you exactly what gender your baby is going to be, many mothers prefer to find out the old-fashioned way. There are a number of possible indicators that have been used for centuries,...
When you're pregnant, even if you're planning on leaving the baby's sex a surprise until the delivery day, it's still fun to pass the time by trying to predict what you might be having. While the only sure way to predict your baby's gender is to...
Pregnancy myths vary from region to region and generation to generation. One of these myths is that you can determine an unborn baby's sex with the aid of the heart rate. However, you must understand the facts before you put your faith in this...
Electronic fetal monitors help medical personnel track the health of a laboring mother and her baby in the womb. Fetal monitors are especially useful in high-risk pregnancies. The technology has some drawbacks, including false positives that may...
Fetal hiccups can show up as early as the first trimester, but they usually show up around the second or third trimester. The website AmazingPregnancy.com states that when a fetus hiccups the mother feels little spasms in her belly that are...
The heart is one of the earliest developing organs in a new baby, and hearing that tiny heartbeat is one of the first pregnancy memories for many new parents. During pregnancy, a baby's heart goes through many changes during development that...
Just as a baby's body size and shape change dramatically during the fetal period, her heart rate also changes with gestational age. As a baby grows in the womb and develops features for life after birth, her heart rate will change to reflect this....
When you're pregnant, almost nothing is more beautiful to the ear than the sound of your baby's heartbeat. This sound reassures you that your baby is still thriving. One of the most common methods to hear this sound is through a fetal Doppler....
A normal pregnancy is counted as 40 weeks, and is counted from day one of the last menstrual period. At the time of a missed period, a woman is considered to be four weeks pregnant. Early signs of pregnancy can only be detected by blood tests or...
Any pregnancy involves a certain level of risk to both the mother and the baby. However, certain pregnancies are considered high-risk--this may be due to the mother's pre-pregnancy health status, or arise from problems that surface during the...
The fetal Doppler is a way to check the heartbeat on a fetus in the womb. The Doppler may be used during fetal development to monitor the health of the baby, and it is used during the time of labor and delivery. Other times, the fetal Doppler...
In most cases, anesthetic medications should be avoided during pregnancy. However, if surgery and anesthesia are necessary, the medical staff will select medications to limit the possible side effects to the mother and fetus. A case study...
A expectant mother with high blood pressure can put herself and her baby at risk. According to MayoClinic.com, these risks can include limited blood flow to the placenta, the placenta pulling away from the uterus and the mother being at an...
A fetal heart monitor can detect a baby's heart rate as early as the first trimester. Learn how to use a fetal heart monitor in this pregnancy video.
