Alternatively, they may use a small handheld electronic device called a Doppler (Doptone). Where you have had an uncomplicated (straightforward) pregnancy and labour your midwife may listen into your baby’s heart rate at intervals using a Pinard stethoscope – this is also commonly called the midwife’s stethoscope. The methods of monitoring advised by your midwife and doctor will be influenced by the nature of your pregnancy and labour.

There have been many advances in fetal monitoring during labour. How might they monitor my baby’s heart rate? If your baby is struggling to cope with labour contractions this will often be detected by changes to the rate and pattern of their heartbeat – this is called fetal distress. This then results in your baby’s oxygen levels being reduced further which can cause their health and wellbeing to become compromised. However, if your baby is smaller than average or you go into labour prematurely (too early) you experience a long labour or your uterine contractions are particularly strong and/or too close together (with very little break between them), this can have a significant impact on your baby’s oxygen supply. The majority of babies cope with labour contractions and birth without any difficulty. When your midwife listens to your baby’s heartbeat during a strong contraction, they may hear a general slowing down of the baby’s heart rate which then returns to its normal rate once the contraction has ended. Do not be alarmed by the term hypoxia, as a baby’s metabolism is designed to cope with this in active labour. This causes hypoxia (diminished oxygen supply to the body tissues) for a short period of time however, this should resolve swiftly once your uterine contraction has subsided. This is because with every labour contraction, the blood flow to the placenta (afterbirth) is temporarily diminished and this reduces your baby’s oxygen supply.

Labour and birth is probably the most stressful episode of any baby’s young life.

Why will the midwives ask to monitor my baby’s heart rate in labour? Where your baby’s heartbeat speeds up these are called ‘fetal heart accelerations’. A sign that your baby is healthy is where there is a beat-to-beat variation of at least five beats per minute and where your baby’s heartbeat speeds up when they move inside the uterus (womb), or where they are stimulated eg during an abdominal palpation (where your midwife feels your abdomen to determine the position of your baby), or during a vaginal examination where the baby’s head is touched. Your midwife and doctor will describe this constant change in your baby’s heart rate as the ‘beat-to-beat variation’ or ‘variability’. A baby’s normal heart rate can be anything in the range 110 to160 beats per minute and this rate changes constantly. They do this to check that there are no changes to your baby’s heart rate pattern, which could suggest your baby has a problem with their health and wellbeing. This article has been written to explain how your midwife and doctor observe and record your baby’s heart rate during labour, so they can monitor your baby’s health and wellbeing.ĭuring your pregnancy, the midwives and doctors will regularly listen into your baby’s heartbeat.

Monitoring your baby’s heart rate in labour

Heart monitor for pregnancy