The frequency of palpitation in the fetus is the most important indicator, which indicates the correct development of the child in the womb and its viability. These data are of interest to gynecologists and midwives throughout pregnancy, but in the process of delivery - especially.
How does the fetal heart beating?
There are several ways to determine the heart rate in an embryo:
- Ultrasound examination, which can be performed transvaginally at the 6th or 7th week of gestation - the fetal heart rate during this period is about 100-130 beats per minute;
- Auscultation is the most common method that all obstetricians use: with the help of a stethoscope attached to the pregnant belly, the doctor listens to the child's heart rhythms;
- ECHO KG of the fetal heart - this method is relevant only from 18 to 28 weeks of gestation and is prescribed only if there are risks of malforming the baby;
- it is also possible to use a cardiotocograph - a device for listening to the heartbeat of the fetus and the mother at the same time: cardiotocography is necessary to establish the child's response to the contractile activity of the uterus and to assess the degree of its readiness for childbirth.
Pathologies of the fetal heart muscle
A fairly frequent diagnosis, determined by ultrasound, was a hyperechoic focus in the heart of the fetus. This term indicates that a certain area of the baby's heart, where the most deposits of calcium salts are located, has an increased echogenicity. Hyperechoic inclusion in the heart of the fetus is not a blemish, and quite often disappears to the birth.
The heart defect in the fetus, or rather the anatomical changes in the structure of the heart muscle, can be determined as early as the 14-15 week of gestation. Physicians allocate about 100 varieties of such an anomaly, some of which are quite successfully cured by medical or surgical methods. Therefore, do not immediately make a decision
The arrhythmia of the heart in the fetus is also of no particular danger, since it is not at all a sharp sign of the presence of the pathology of the cardiac muscle of the child.
It is necessary to understand that the study of the embryo's heartbeat makes it possible to objectively assess the general state of the child, correct the possible defects of its development in time, and choose the right tactics during its birth. Heart rate in children who are in the mother's womb is set at 140-160 cuts per minute and remains unchanged until the very birth.