What is the heartbeat of the embryo at 6 weeks. What are the fetal heart rates by week, when can you hear

When carrying a baby, all body systems function much faster, therefore, cases of rapid heart rate during pregnancy are not uncommon. Next, we will consider the causes of tachycardia and methods of influencing it.

The fetal heartbeat is one of the main characteristics of the normal course of pregnancy and the development of the unborn baby. Gynecologists constantly monitor the heart rate and development of the child's cardiovascular system.

If you do not use high-tech equipment, then the first fetal heartbeat can be heard with a stethoscope not earlier. During pregnancy, assessing the work of the heart muscle and listening to the baby's heartbeat became possible only after the invention of ultrasound.

The laying of the heart in a child occurs on - then it is a hollow tube. There is already a fetal heartbeat. With the help of a transvaginal ultrasound sensor, you can hear the heartbeat at 6 weeks, and if you use a transabdominal sensor, the heartbeat is heard only at 7 weeks.

Consider the rates of indicators.

Such changes are due to the constant development of the nervous system, which is responsible for the well-coordinated work of all systems and internal organs.

There is a disturbing feeling

Now let's look at the mother's heart rate.

Trimester	Rate, beats / minute
The first	60-80
Second	70-90
Third	90-110

As doctors say, frequent heartbeats while carrying a child is a medical norm. It is this period that is characterized by an increased load on the woman's heart: to properly ensure the vital activity of her own body and the development of the fetus, the heart has to pump 1.5 liters of blood more than before. The heart rate in the "interesting position" is about 10-15 beats higher than before.

Such a feature does not carry any threat to the future baby and mother. After the baby is born, everything will return to normal. The reason for contacting a specialist can only be that accompanied - these symptoms indicate any disease of the heart muscle, which must be diagnosed immediately.

Reasons for high rates

Tachycardia is a condition where the number of heartbeats exceeds 200 beats / minute.

Let's take a look at the main causes of frequent heartbeats:

for up to 9 weeks, such a feature may indicate a woman's nervous overstrain;
the threat of developing more serious complications (developmental delay, malformations, or umbilical cord);
lack of oxygen for the expectant mother (stuffy room);
physical stress;
lack of iron (anemia);
emotion.

In some cases, the doctor will send the woman for a second examination. If a strong heartbeat is associated with hypoxia, the pregnant woman will be prescribed an additional examination and a course of therapy.

Medical examination

If the number of heartbeats increased by 15 beats / minute for 15-20 seconds during labor, this indicates a normal baby's reaction to a vaginal examination, which is carried out by an obstetrician. Sometimes gynecologists use this tactic as a test to check the child's well-being.

The abnormally low heart rate of a baby during pregnancy is usually short-term. Symptoms of bradycardia are a decrease in the number of heart contractions to 110 beats / minute and below, as well as low fetal activity, which can be seen.

The main causes of pathology are:

reception by the expectant mother of analgesics, synthetic hormones and drugs that are injected into the epidural space of the spinal cord to facilitate the birth process;
low blood pressure in a woman;
clamping the umbilical cord;
lack of oxygen to the fetus - in this case, the baby's distress occurs, which results in a slowdown in the fetal heart rate;
compression of the superior vena cava - occurs due to the position of the woman on her back, this slows down the process of oxygen supply to the fetus in the womb and causes bradycardia;
autoimmune diseases of the expectant mother;
gestosis;
iron-deficiency anemia;
congenital malformations of the fetus;
structural abnormalities that can be confirmed or refuted during the ECG;
obesity of the future woman in labor - leads to muffled heartbeats;
fetal-placental insufficiency;
polyhydramnios or;
a weak heartbeat in the early stages may indicate a threatened abortion. Sometimes such a state is only a consequence of an incorrectly set term for an "interesting situation."

Tachycardia treatment

Therapy of increased heart rate during pregnancy is determined by the form of the pathological process, the period of bearing the child, as well as a number of other features of the woman's body and the fetus. The condition is intermittent, so no special treatment is required. The doctor prescribes only monitoring the course of pregnancy: they regularly measure the heart rate in a hospital or at home using a Doppler monitor. Measurements are carried out 2 times / day.

If there is a heartbeat failure with a complication of valve or heart muscle dysfunction, then the expectant mother is prescribed a whole range of drugs to align the child's heart rhythm. It is forbidden to take such funds on your own, as they put an undue burden on the baby's heart and can cause his death.

Therapy for tachycardia depends on the form of the disease. Let's consider the main methods of treatment.

Treatment of ventricular polymorphic tachycardia is carried out with lidocaine, magnesium, propranolol preparations. Medications are administered intravenously or taken orally.
Ventricular tachycardia due to a long QT interval can only be treated in a hospital setting with extreme caution. This is due to the fact that some drugs cause lengthening of the interval, and, consequently, arrhythmia.
If the heart palpitations show above 220 beats / minute, then the pregnant woman is prescribed Amiodarone or Sotalol. Flecainide should be used with great caution, since in the presence of ventricular dysfunction, it can lead to cardiac arrest and death of the child.
If there is a suspicion of myocarditis, the doctor may prescribe a course of Dexametozone to normalize the heart rate. As a rule, its duration is 7-10 days.
Medication therapy is effective in supraventricular pathology. If the treatment regimen is drawn up correctly, a positive effect is observed in more than 90% of cases.
Use of beta blockers. It must be borne in mind that active substances do not penetrate well through the placenta, therefore this method is not so effective.

Treatment of low fetal heart rates involves the introduction of drugs directly into the body of the expectant mother. Passing through the general bloodstream, they enter the fetal circulatory system. At the same time, there is an improvement in the woman's uteroplacental blood flow.

The work of the heart must be controlled

Medication therapy is prescribed based on the type of bradycardia, its severity, general condition, and also the duration of pregnancy. Droppers are prescribed with calcium gluconate, ascorbic acid, glucose and sodium bicarbonate.

The drugs are administered in the following order:

first solutions of sodium bicarbonate and cocarboxylase;
after - a solution of ascorbic acid with the addition of glucose;
the final stage is calcium gluconate.

If the devices recorded the development of acute bradycardia during labor, the newly-made mom and the baby are injected subcutaneously atropine, if there is such an opportunity.

Negative consequences and risks

Alas, the instrument readings do not always indicate the desired values. Such cases require additional research in order to find out the reasons that caused the increase or decrease in the fetal heart rate. Only after that, appropriate measures are taken to bring the indicators back to normal.

There are also more serious consequences of an irregular heart rhythm. These include:

congenital fetal heart defects;
oxygen deficiency of the fetus.

Conclusion

Tachycardia, starting from the 1st trimester, can periodically disturb a pregnant woman. The main thing is to check with your family doctor or gynecologist according to the schedule; in case of prolonged ailments, it is worth contacting the doctor. In the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy, tachycardia may appear more often. There is no need to worry if the heart rate does not exceed the norm.

Literature:

American College of Medical Genetics "What's Happening in the Second Trimester?"

: Borovikova Olga

gynecologist, ultrasound doctor, geneticist

Fetal heartbeat is an important characteristic that allows doctors and mothers to understand how well the baby is feeling in the womb. They begin to measure it earlier than other parameters of vital activity and continue throughout pregnancy and childbirth. In this regard, mothers have many questions about heart rate.

How is the heart formed?

The baby's heart is one of the first to form. The woman does not yet realize that she is pregnant, and the crumbs are already undergoing intensive processes of organogenesis of the heart and great vessels. This process begins in the second week of pregnancy. (from the date of conception).

In the embryo, in the first week of its existence, two heart rudiments are formed - endocardial tubes. They gradually merge into one, but two-layer. The most rapid growth of the tube occurs at 3 weeks of gestation (the first week from the beginning of the missed period). Despite its miniature size, the heart tube of the embryo has a rather complex structure: it has five sections, of which the atrium, ventricle, venous sinus will form, there is an arterial bulb and a trunk.

A baby's heart acquires its characteristic appearance at 5 weeks from the day of conception, that is, at 7 obstetric week. At this point, the heart has already been divided into right and left halves, separated by two partitions.

It is noteworthy that the formation of the heart does not occur where this organ is usually located, but in the cervical region. As the organ develops, it gradually descends to where the chest will later be. On the way there, the heart turns over, and those sections that were formed on top are at the bottom.

This process is very complex, and therefore any violations in it can cause gross pathology, for example, the heart will remain in the cervical region or will not turn over, and then its top will be turned down.

At the 4th week of embryonic development, the interventricular septum is formed, the organ is divided into 2 parts. At the 6th week of the baby's development, an oval window forms in the septum and the heart becomes three-chambered. At the 7th week, the process of formation of another septum begins and by the end of the 8th week, and the heart becomes four-chambered, such as that of each of us.

The embryo's heart begins to beat at the end of the 5th week of pregnancy, this can be recorded according to the results of ultrasound... There are no other ways to hear a tiny heart beating in the early stages.

The period from 2 to 8 weeks of embryonic term (from 4 to 10 weeks of gestation) is critical.

With any teratogenic factor, the formation of the heart and blood vessels can be disrupted, which is fraught with the development of defects, sometimes incompatible with life. Bad habits of a woman, unfavorable environmental conditions, harmful factors of production, etc., can have such an effect.

When and why are they measured?

From the end of the 5th week until the very moment of delivery, the fetal heart rate is measured at each ultrasound examination. This is not a tribute to tradition, but an important characteristic of the baby's condition at the time of the examination. The frequency with which the heart of the crumbs beats is indicated in the ultrasound protocol by the abbreviation heart rate - heart rate.

At different stages of pregnancy, additional methods of listening to the baby's heart appear. Echocardiography can be done from about 18 obstetric week. Ultrasound with Doppler and in color gives an idea not only of how well the heart is formed and how it beats, but also of how the blood circulates in the great vessels.

From the middle of the second trimester, the auscultation method is used - listening with an obstetric tube with a wide distal end (stethoscope). This is in the office of every obstetrician-gynecologist and usually every planned appointment of a pregnant woman begins with the listening procedure... This method does not allow you to calculate the heart rate in a numerical value, but it gives the doctor an idea of \u200b\u200bhow rhythmically and clearly the baby's heart is beating, and also to assume its presentation - when a heartbeat is detected below the navel, women talk about head presentation, with a beating in the navel, to the right or to the left of it, suggest a transverse arrangement of the crumbs, and if the heartbeat is heard above the navel, with a high degree of probability the baby is in breech presentation.

But the method is not very accurate, especially with polyhydramnios, when the heart rhythms are poorly listened to, with oligohydramnios, with pregnancy with twins or triplets, and also if the mother is obese or with the placenta located on the front wall.

From the 30th week of pregnancy, another method becomes available - CTG (cardiotocography). It is done both according to indications and for monitoring all expectant mothers. The method is based on the registration of two indicators by sensors - the heartbeat and movements of the fetus are recorded, and the connection between movements and increased heart rate is monitored (this is typical for babies).

In the process of childbirth, it is also often necessary to register heart rate and contractions by attaching CTG apparatus sensors to the woman's abdomen. This monitors the condition of the fetus during childbirth.

At home, a woman can hear a baby's heart beating in several ways, but all of them are intended solely to satisfy the curiosity of her own and her future father. A woman needs special medical knowledge to understand what this or that change in the rhythm of the beating of a child's heart means. We are not talking about situations where home heart rate control is recommended by a doctor - in this case, special portable fetal monitors are used, which are given to the expectant mother for a while so that she can follow the doctor's recommendation.

For home listening, an obstetric stethoscope can also be used - after 24 weeks of pregnancy, but this method is not available to the woman herself, since someone else, for example, her husband, will listen. Today, fetal dopplers are available on the market - small devices with an ultrasound probe. You can use it at home from 13-14 weeks of pregnancy.

The main difficulty lies in finding the listening point, which, as practice shows, does not work right away. You can use a regular phonendoscope - after 32 weeks of pregnancy, or try to listen to the baby's heart with your ear through the abdominal wall, but for this the baby must be conveniently located - facing the abdominal wall.

Heart rate is an indicator about which doctors have no consensus. More often it is believed that it does not have high diagnostic accuracy, since there can be many reasons why the heartbeat can slow down or speed up, and even the usual excitement of the mother or her unimportant state of health will certainly affect the heart rate result. Why then measure your heart rate?

Firstly, for the diagnosis of pregnancy itself - at 5 weeks... A small ovum may be invisible in the uterine cavity, but its beating and characteristic sound will not allow the doctor to view the baby. Secondly, the baby's heart muscle reacts to any changes in its condition, which can be important as part of a comprehensive assessment of the fetus's condition. As an independent measure that allows you to make a diagnosis, heart rate measurement does not act. But it favorably supplements the information that can be collected during the ultrasound scan, laboratory tests.

But in the process of giving birth to a baby in a maternity hospital, measuring heart rate is a direct indication of his condition. Acute hypoxia during childbirth is very dangerous for a child, and the prognosis will depend on how quickly the doctors learn about it and decide on the further management of childbirth.

Norms

Before talking about heart rate norms, it is important to understand that in the process of forming the cardiovascular system, the baby's heart beats unevenly. After 8 weeks, the rhythm usually becomes more confident, clear.

Much in this parameter is individual. If a woman suffers from toxicosis or has a cold or ARVI, the baby's heart rate always increases, and the examination during this period will give overestimated values. If the mother lay on her back for a long time, as a result of which the vena cava was compressed by the pregnant uterus, then the heart rate may be reduced, but after changing the position of the body, after a while it will return to normal.

The child in the womb is asleep and awake, and in these two states he has a different heart rate... In the late stages of pregnancy, the baby is quite emotional, he hears a lot, feels, may be frightened, and the heart muscle is the first to respond to this and give out overestimated readings of the heart rate.

The rates for early and late dates differ, as can be seen from these tables.

Table of normative heart rate values \u200b\u200b- early dates

If the doctor has certain concerns about the health and condition of the baby based on the heart rate results, he must prescribe additional examinations.

Deviations and reasons

And yet, the discrepancy between the beating of a child's heart and the average standards cannot but scare women. Hearing from the doctor that the heart rate does not correspond to the norm, the expectant mother begins to worry, which further exacerbates the situation - during stress, the female body produces an increased production of adrenaline and cortisone (stress hormones), which does not go unnoticed for the heart muscle of the baby. Therefore, let's calmly consider the possible causes of deviations from the norm.

Decreased heart rate

Your baby has been diagnosed with bradycardia. The heart beats more slowly than necessary for the duration of pregnancy. Most often this happens in the final, third trimester, when the baby becomes cramped.when the placenta begins to age and worsens to cope with its gas exchange and nutritional functions.

Fetal bradycardia is considered a condition in which the heart rate is reduced to 110 beats per minute or lower. Please note that during CTG, the heart rate may drop to such values, but then it returns to the original numbers. Bradycardia is a persistent decrease in heart rate that is observed throughout the entire examination.

By itself, bradycardia does not indicate any specific disease, but doctors treat it very carefully, since it always says that the child's condition is significantly impaired. Slow fetal heart rate can be heard when a woman is leading an unhealthy lifestyle - smokes, uses alcohol and drugs during gestation. Often, the baby's heart rate slows down due to the mother's anemia (It is for this reason that the deviation of the heart rate towards a decrease is observed more often in the third trimester).

If a woman has oligohydramnios or polyhydramnios, then the condition of the fetus may also be impaired. Violation of the amount of amniotic fluid is diagnosed quite easily, and throughout pregnancy such women are closely monitored. The reason may be the woman's taking medications with hypnotic effects, the abuse of sedatives. Sometimes persistent bradycardia indicates congenital malformations.

The slowed frequency of the beating of a child's heart is always an alarming sign, since it indicates that the baby is in a state of decompensation, that is, the violation is at least chronic, and the crumbs' body no longer has the resources and opportunities to compensate for what it does not receive. Bradycardia may suggest severe intrauterine chronic hypoxia (oxygen starvation), placental insufficiency, placental infarction, severe Rh-conflict in a Rh-negative woman with an Rh-positive child, mechanical asphyxia with an umbilical cord (entwined around the neck).

The response of doctors to bradycardia should be immediate. It is necessary as soon as possible to establish the cause that led to the condition and eliminate it... If it is not possible to establish or eliminate it, an early emergency caesarean section is performed to save the child's life and in his interests.

The only case when bradycardia is not an indication for urgent hospitalization is the detection of a slowdown in heart rate due to temporary circulatory disorders (a compressed vena cava, the umbilical cord squeezed by the child himself inside the uterus). Usually a woman is asked to walk and walk for half an hour, return and be tested again. Physiologically caused bradycardia is not confirmed on repeated examination.

If again the heart rate results are underestimated, the woman is hospitalized, since her condition and the condition of the crumbs may require medical intervention at any time.

Increased heart rate

Overestimated fetal heart rates are less dangerous than decreased ones. It has already been said that fear, stress may well be the cause of such examination results. But even if it's not about stress, the often beating heart is a sign that the baby is struggling, his condition is compensated. High heart rate values \u200b\u200bare called tachycardia, and they talk about it if the heart rate exceeds 175 beats per minute. The deviation must also be stable and persistent. The exception is the period from 8 to 11 weeks of pregnancy, when a high heart rate rhythm is a physiologically determined norm.

The reason for the increase in frequency may be the mother's bad habits, as well as some of her diseases. For example, with hyperfunction of the thyroid gland, when the level of its hormones rises, there may well be a change in the heart rate of both the baby and his mother. In the case of severe toxicosis, if vomiting for a woman becomes habitual, the likelihood of dehydration increases, and in this case, the baby's heart is listened to with the definition of tachycardia. The cause of fetal tachycardia can be mother's heart disease, disorders in the functioning of her kidneys.

The child may also have his own personal reasons for the rapid heartbeat - structural abnormalities of the placenta (its defects), the presence of intrauterine infection, hypoxia in the initial stages.

Oxygen starvation, if it started recently, is perfectly compensated by the child's body, forcing its adrenal glands to work a little more actively. While the state is compensated, the heart rate is increased, as soon as bradycardia occurs after that, it is said that the fetus's condition has worsened - it has ceased to fight and compensate for the lack of oxygen. In the absence of urgent assistance, he may die.

It should be noted that too frequent heartbeats are also characteristic of some chromosomal abnormalities. For example, a fetus with Down syndrome often suffers from concomitant tachycardia. But to diagnose chromosomal abnormalities, listening to the heart is not enough, for this there is a system of diagnostic measures.

Boy or girl?

Speaking about fetal heartbeat, it is difficult not to dwell separately on the topic of determining the sex of the unborn child by heart rate. Despite the fact that it is the 21st century, many continue to believe that the frequency of the beating of a child's heart can indicate the sex of the embryo. They believe because they want to believe, and otherwise it is impossible to determine the sex of the baby in the early stages - an ultrasound scan up to -16 weeks cannot reliably answer the question of which child a woman is expecting.

Experts say that there is no relationship between the sex of the baby and his heartbeat. The sex of the crumbs is formed at the time of the merger of the sex cells of the parents. If the chromosomes in the last pair are of the XX type, a girl will be born, if XY is a boy. Organogenesis of the heart occurs the same in embryos of both sexes, the organ and its functions develop the same week, otherwise doctors would have two diagnostic tables - one with a heart rate for boys, the other with a heart rate for girls.

At the same time, women's forums are full of messages and discussions on this issue, as if no one hears the opinion of experts. The girl is credited with a more frequent heartbeat, the boys are more rare. In girls, experts in folk methods of sex determination say, hearts beat inconsistently, indistinctly, and in boys - rhythmically. In fact, the confused and fuzzy rhythm of the beating of a child's heart appears only in one case - if the child has congenital heart defects. And there is no difference, a boy inside the womb or a girl. Sick hearts really beat differently from healthy ones.

If a child is healthy, then his gender does not matter - the heart will beat rhythmically and clearly in both girls and boys.

To find out the gender, if it is important, you need to do an ultrasound scan after 14 weeks or donate blood as part of a non-invasive prenatal DNA test. Ultrasound gives an answer with an accuracy of 80%, a DNA test - with an accuracy of 99%.

Another common myth about heart rate is that during pregnancy after IVF with cryoprotocol, babies' hearts beat slower. As you can see from the above, this is not true. Cryopreservation of germ cells and embryos reduces their viability, but does not affect the development of the embryo, if the implantation is successful.

Attentive mothers listen to the heart of their baby during an ultrasound scan or at home on their own with the sinking of their own heart, tenderness and calmness appear, the woman's stress level at this time decreases and this is the truth.

The beating of a child's heart is an indisputable sign of new life inside. Knowing about her is one thing, but hearing about her is another.

The site provides background information for informational purposes only. Diagnosis and treatment of diseases should be carried out under the supervision of a specialist. All drugs have contraindications. A specialist consultation is required!

When does the fetus have a heartbeat?

Indications fetal heartbeat are some of the fundamental characteristics of a normal pregnancy and the vitality of the unborn child. That is why obstetricians constantly monitor the heart rate and development of the fetal cardiovascular system.

Without the use of high-tech equipment, the first fetal heartbeats can be heard with a stethoscope no earlier than 18-20 weeks of pregnancy. At the beginning of pregnancy, it became possible to assess the condition of the heart and listen to heartbeats only after the invention of ultrasound.

In other cases, a muffled fetal heartbeat may indicate:

fetal-placental insufficiency;
prolonged fetal hypoxia;
high or low water;
breech presentation of the fetus;
the location of the placenta on the anterior wall of the uterus;
increased motor activity of the fetus.

Weak heartbeat

A weak fetal heartbeat indicates an increasing chronic hypoxia that threatens the life of the fetus. In the early stages, a weak fetal heartbeat can signal the threat of termination of pregnancy, but sometimes this condition is just the result of incorrectly establishing the gestational age.

A weak heartbeat in the II and III trimesters may indicate prolonged fetal hypoxia. It appears after a period of tachycardia and is characterized by a sharp decrease in the number of heart contractions (less than 120 beats / minute). In some cases, this condition may become an indication for urgent operative delivery.

Fetal heartbeat cannot be heard

If the fetal heartbeat is not heard with an embryo size of 5 mm or more, then obstetricians-gynecologists diagnose "undeveloped pregnancy". Most cases of undeveloped pregnancies are detected precisely before the 12th week of pregnancy.

In some cases, the absence of fetal heartbeat is observed when an ultrasound of the ovum is detected in the absence of an embryo in it - this condition is called anembryonia. It indicates that the death of the embryo occurred at an earlier date, or it did not start at all.

In such cases, the woman is prescribed a second ultrasound examination after 5-7 days. In the absence of palpitations and on re-examination, the diagnosis of "undeveloped pregnancy (anembryonia)" is confirmed; a woman is prescribed a curettage of the uterus.

Intrauterine fetal death may be indicated by the absence of fetal heartbeats at 18-28 weeks of gestation. In such cases, the obstetrician-gynecologist decides to carry out artificial childbirth or fetal surgery.

Is it possible to determine the sex of the baby by the fetal heart rate?

There are several popular methods for determining the sex of a child by the fetal heartbeat, but doctors refute them.

One such method suggests listening to the fetal heart rate. In boys, according to the adherents of this technique, the heart beats more rhythmically and clearly, while in girls it is more chaotic, and the rhythm of the heartbeat does not coincide with the mother's.

According to the second similar folk technique, the baby's gender can indicate the location of the heartbeat. Listening to the tone on the left means a girl will be born, and on the right a boy.

The third popular technique says that the number of heartbeats can indicate the gender of the baby, but there are so many versions of this method that they have become very confusing. Some argue that girls should have more than 150 or less than 140 beats per minute, and boys' hearts beat more than 160 beats per minute or about 120. The exact timing of such tests also varies.

While these methods are entertaining, they are little more than a guessing game. All these methods are completely refuted by scientifically proven facts indicating that the number of heart contractions is affected by:

gestational age;
the position of the mother's body while listening to the heartbeat;
motor and emotional activity of the mother;
the state of health of the future baby and mother.

Medical research confirms that it is possible to find out the sex of the unborn child with 100% accuracy only with a special method, during which amniotic fluid or a piece of tissue from the placenta is taken for research.

Can the fetal heartbeat be felt?

A woman cannot feel the fetal heartbeat by putting her hand to her stomach at any stage of pregnancy, since a stethoscope is needed to listen to heart sounds. In some cases, a pregnant woman feels a throbbing in the abdomen or lower back and takes these sensations for the fetal heartbeat. Such pulsation does not reflect the fetal heartbeat, but indicates an increased pressure in the aorta, which can occur against the background of hormonal changes in the body during pregnancy.

Some parents have many questions in the event that the fetal heartbeat is not heard in the early stages of its development.

Contraction rate by week is normal

The first blows with the help of modern sensitive equipment can be heard already in the second month of pregnancy. There are certain norms of fetal heart rate:

at week 5, the heart of the unborn child beats at a frequency of 80–103 beats per minute;
at 6 - the heart is already beating 103-126 times over the course of one minute;
at 7 weeks of gestation, the frequency of contraction fluctuates between 126-149 beats per minute;
at 8 am - heart rate reaches 149–172 times per minute;
at 9 - the heart beats approximately 155-195 times in one minute;
by 10, the SS frequency reaches 161-179 times.

For the first time, a baby's heartbeat can be heard at approximately 6 weeks. At this time, the length of the fruit reaches about 6 mm. At this time, it has already been formed, but it is not yet fully developed.

At this time, it is still impossible to see the baby's heart on an ultrasound examination, since it is still too small. But you can listen to how it knocks for the first time.

Despite this, it is already directly involved in pumping blood and oxygen through a small body, ensuring its normal development and functioning.

Only at 8 weeks, the baby's heart is already fully formed. Throughout the rest of a woman's pregnancy, it will grow and increase.

Listening methods

In modern medicine, there are several methods that allow you to listen to the contraction of the baby's heart. Each of them gives positive results in different periods of pregnancy:

Auscultation. In this case, the gynecologist uses a special gynecological stethoscope that is applied to the woman's abdomen. You can use this method around 27-28 weeks of gestation.
Ultrasound procedure. This technique allows not only to hear how the child's heart beats, but also to record these sounds. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that ultrasound is performed only three times (10-12, 21-23, 31-32 weeks). It is possible to carry out an ultrasound scan more times, but only if it becomes necessary.
Cardiotocography. This is one of the types of ultrasound, which makes it possible not only to listen to the heartbeat, but also to record its graphic image.

Each of the above methods has its positive and negative aspects, but at the same time, without their use, it is impossible to determine the presence of pathologies in the development of the fetal CVS or even hear a heartbeat.

Causes of heart rate violation

There are frequent cases when the baby's heart beats more or less than the generally accepted norm. There may be several reasons for this. For example, if at the period of 6-8 embryonic weeks the heart rate is 200, this may indicate the development of hypoxia in the child - oxygen starvation.

In this case, various pathologies of the development of the cardiovascular system or physiological disorders may occur.

In the same case, when the beat is heard less often than the established norm (80 times per minute), this may signal the development of bradycardia in the fetus.

The reasons for the absence of a heartbeat may be factors such as smoking or the mother's drinking of alcoholic beverages, her development of anemia, severe toxicosis, etc.

There are frequent cases when at the initial stages of pregnancy the heartbeat is not heard at all or it is very weakly audible. There are several main reasons:

old equipment - in this case, the woman can be recommended to go to another clinic, where the equipment is more sensitive, which will allow you to hear the fetal heartbeat;
too much or insufficient amount of amniotic fluid - such a situation simply does not make it possible to hear how the baby's heart beats. In this case, it is recommended to wait a while and repeat the examination;
multiplicity - while during the ultrasound examination, the specialist cannot listen to the mixed sound of the beating of several hearts;
the woman's gestational age is incorrectly determined - since for the first time, heartbeats can be heard only after six weeks, with an incorrectly defined period (too short) it is simply impossible to do this;
the position of the fetus - in the event that the baby lies pressed against the opposite abdominal wall, during the ultrasound examination, the contractions of his heart are simply not heard.

What to do

At different stages of pregnancy, the amount of this hormone changes.

Performing the test again will help confirm that the woman is indeed pregnant.

A woman should also independently take certain measures that will contribute to the normal development and functioning of the child's heart, as well as the baby's health.

Fetal heartbeat - indicators of the norm, methods of control, pathology

When does the fetus have a heartbeat?

Fetal heart rate by week

at 6-8 weeks - from 110 to 130 beats / minute;
at 9-10 weeks - from 170 to 190 beats / minute;
from the 11th week until the moment of delivery - from 140 to 160 beats / minute.

Such changes in the heart rate are explained by the constant development and formation of the functioning of the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for the well-coordinated work of all internal systems and organs.

Methods for controlling fetal heartbeat

Listening

All these indicators reflect the vital activity and condition of the fetus. From the point of the best listening to the heartbeat, the doctor can determine the position of the child:

with a head presentation, this point is determined below the mother's navel (right or left);
with transverse presentation - on the right or left at the level of the mother's navel;
with breech presentation - above the navel.

At 24 weeks of multiple pregnancy, heartbeats are heard after 24 weeks in different parts of the uterus.

The first fetal heartbeats can be heard using ultrasound with a transvaginal sensor as early as at 5 or 6 weeks of gestation, and when using a trasabdominal sensor - at 6-7 weeks. At these times, the doctor determines the number of fetal heartbeats, and their absence may indicate a missed pregnancy. In such cases, the pregnant woman is recommended to undergo a second ultrasound scan in 5-7 days to confirm or deny this diagnosis.

When conducting an ultrasound scan at these stages of pregnancy, the doctor assesses not only the number of heartbeats, but also their frequency, and the location of the heart in the chest of the unborn child. At this stage of pregnancy, the heart rate depends on various factors: the movements of the unborn baby, the physical activity of the mother, various external factors (cold, heat, all kinds of diseases). To identify possible malformations of the fetal heart, a technique such as a four-chamber "cut" is used. This ultrasound of the fetal heart allows you to "see" the structure of the atria and ventricles of the heart. The use of this ultrasound technique allows detecting about 75% of congenital heart defects.

Cardiotocography

late gestosis;
intrauterine growth retardation;
lack of water;
polyhydramnios;
infectious diseases of the mother, accompanied by an increase in temperature;
chronic diseases of the mother;
scar on the uterus after surgery;
premature aging of the placenta;
prolongation of pregnancy.

With the help of cardiotocography, or CTG, it is possible to listen and record fetal heartbeats and uterine contractions. The study is carried out in the position of the pregnant woman lying on her back (if a woman cannot stay in this position for a long time, then the CTG recording is performed in the lying on her side or sitting position). A special sensor is installed on the abdominal wall at the point of best listening to the heart sounds of the unborn child. The study is carried out over a period of minutes. Further, the doctor evaluates its results and makes a conclusion about the fetal heartbeat in response to the contractions of the walls of the uterus. This takes into account:

heart rate;
their variability (i.e., the change in their number over the course of a minute);
the presence or absence of a decrease or increase in the fetal heart rate in response to uterine contractions.

Echocardiography

the presence of congenital heart defects in the mother;
children with heart defects from previous pregnancies;
infectious diseases in a pregnant woman;
diabetes mellitus in the mother;
pregnancy after 38 years;
the presence of defects in other organs in the fetus or a suspicion of the presence of congenital heart defects;
intrauterine growth retardation.

When conducting echocardiography, not only the usual two-dimensional ultrasound is used, but other modes of the ultrasound scanner are also used: Doppler mode and one-dimensional ultrasound. This combination of techniques allows not only to study the structure of the heart, but also to investigate the nature of blood flow in it and large vessels.

Fetal heart rate detector

Pathology of fetal heartbeat

Cardiopalmus

Muffled heartbeat

fetal-placental insufficiency;
prolonged fetal hypoxia;
high or low water;
breech presentation of the fetus;
the location of the placenta on the anterior wall of the uterus;
increased motor activity of the fetus.

Weak heartbeat

Fetal heartbeat cannot be heard

Is it possible to determine the sex of the baby by the fetal heart rate?

gestational age;
the position of the mother's body while listening to the heartbeat;
motor and emotional activity of the mother;
the state of health of the future baby and mother.

Fetal palpitations at 6 weeks and 6 days.

The fetal heart rate changes throughout pregnancy:

For a period of 6 to 8 weeks - beats per minute;
From 9 to 10 weeks - beats per minute;
From the 11th week of pregnancy to delivery, the fetal heart rate is beats per minute.

As you can see, the baby's heartbeat during intrauterine development changes dramatically, this is due to the development of the autonomic nervous system.

Determination of the fetal heart rate during pregnancy is very important, because, according to the heart rate indicators, one or another deviation can be identified, and this, in turn, contributes to the timely prescription of treatment, which eliminates the cause of changes in the fetal heart rate.

It is clear that heart rates up to 100 and over 200 beats per minute at any stage of pregnancy should raise serious concerns. A non-developing pregnancy is indicated by the absence of an embryo's heartbeat, the length of which is more than 8 mm. An accurate diagnosis can be made only on the basis of the results of a repeated ultrasound examination, which is carried out a week later.

Fetal heartbeat detection

It is possible to detect a fetal heartbeat after five weeks of pregnancy with transvaginal ultrasound. A transvaginal ultrasound is performed by inserting a transducer into the vagina. After the seventh week of pregnancy, the baby's heartbeat can also be determined using conventional ultrasound - transabdominal, that is, when the sensor is located directly on the stomach.

It is believed that the heart of the fetus beats almost twice as fast as the heart of the expectant mother.

In the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, the heart rate is considered to be beats per minute, the rhythm of the contractions is determined. The fetal heartbeat largely depends on the lifestyle of the expectant mother, especially in the late stages of pregnancy.

Cardiography (CTG)

All registered pregnant women undergo CTG examination. What do the results of cardiography say?

CTG is a combination of fetal heartbeat and uterine contractions. The results of this study can say a lot, namely, it is estimated:

average fetal heart rate (the norm is from 120 to 160 beats per minute)
change in heartbeat as a result of uterine contractions (contractions)
change in heartbeat in response to fetal movement (normally increased heart rate)
presence of an increase in heart rate
the presence of a decrease in heart rate (may indicate fetal hypoxia, fetal-placental insufficiency, normally with breech presentation of the fetus)

A heart rate over 160 beats per minute may indicate poor oxygen supply. This condition is called tachycardia. Due to the deterioration of the fetus, the heartbeat can reach less than 120 beats per minute, this condition is called bradycardia

Fetal heartbeat

The fetal heart rate must be measured throughout the entire period of pregnancy. Some women are diagnosed often, others less often, but in any case, it is simply necessary to measure the fetal heart rate and know its rate. The pulse rate, its rhythm and character change throughout the entire period of pregnancy, so it is advisable to divide 40 weeks into intervals.

Fetal heart rate at 4-14 weeks of gestation

Although the myocardium begins to contract at 3 weeks after conception, it is only at 6 obstetric weeks of pregnancy on an ultrasound scan that your baby's heart begins to beat. At this moment, the normal rhythm is the number of beats equal to the mother's pulse (about 83 beats per minute + - 3). During this first month, the fetal heart rate will increase by 3 bpm per day. During this period, the heart rate can even determine the gestational age of the fetus.

By the beginning of the 9th week, the fetal heart rate is approximately 175 beats / min.

Such a difference in indicators indicates the development of that part of the nervous system that is responsible for the work of internal organs.

Fetal heart rate in weeks of pregnancy

At these terms, it will be necessary to check with ultrasound the location of the heart in the chest of the fetus, heart rate and their nature.

The baby's pulse rate will change throughout the intrauterine period. The child is not in constant rest: he moves, sleeps, yawns, etc. All of these actions will naturally affect the circulatory system and heart rate, respectively.

It should be borne in mind that the audibility of the heart rate depends on the position of the fetus (pelvic, head), position (how the baby is turned), the nature of the mother's abdominal tissue, etc.

The norm in the second trimester is considered to be a heart rate of equal beats per minute. An indicator below 85 and above 200 is considered not normal, a diagnosis of bradycardia or tachycardia is made, according to the violation. The initial stage of fetal hypoxia is evidenced by an indicator above 160 beats per minute. When a child experiences an acute lack of oxygen, the heart rate drops below 120 beats.

During childbirth

If the pregnancy is at high risk, then the fetal heart rate is monitored throughout the entire period of labor. With a full-term pregnancy, 140 beats per minute is considered normal, with a non-full-term pregnancy - about 155 beats per minute during childbirth. During childbirth, the number of fetal heart contractions is usually monitored using auscultation (listening with a special tube with an extension at the end). Some clinics use special sensors.

The fetal heart rate will be measured continuously during childbirth in the following cases:

in the presence of IUGR (developmental delay) of the fetus and chronic hypoxia;
if childbirth takes place earlier or later;
multiple pregnancy with natural childbirth;
if epidural anesthesia is used;
if stimulants of labor are used;
in the presence of chronic diseases in the mother (severe);
with gestosis.

How is heart rate measured?

To obtain accurate data on the fetal heart rate, CTG, ECG, ultrasound and auscultation are used.

Ultrasound of the fetus and its heart

In the early stages of pregnancy, the specialist will determine the heartbeat using a transvaginal sensor. After the 7th week, the sound of the heart will also be heard when diagnosed with a transabdominal sensor (the doctor runs it over the woman's abdomen).

A “four-chamber slice” of the fetal heart is used to identify developmental disorders. Often, it is heart malformations that cause a decrease or increase in heart rate. With this "cut", the doctor on ultrasound perfectly sees 2 atria and 2 ventricles of the fetus.

If suspicions arise and the number of fetal heartbeats does not correspond to the norm, additional research methods are prescribed.

ECG (echocardiography)

This diagnostic method is carried out according to the indications, if the ultrasound revealed violations: intrauterine growth retardation of the fetus, the work of the heart does not correspond to the norms, pathology of the heart structure or fetal development. With its help, you can check in detail the structure of the heart, the performance of all functions and the presence of blood flow disorders in all parts of the heart.

With an ECG, two- and one-dimensional images are used, dopplerometry. The most informative is the period of vacushera weeks due to the sufficient level of AFI.

In addition to referral after ultrasound, echocardiography will be prescribed to a woman if she is over 38 years old, she has diseases of the endocrine (diabetes mellitus) or cardiovascular (congenital heart disease - CHD, for example) systems. The gynecologist may also decide to conduct an ECG if during pregnancy the expectant mother has suffered infectious diseases (especially severe) or she has children with CHD.

Fetal heart auscultation

In the early stages, this method is not used due to its ineffectiveness. But after 20 weeks, the gynecologist will definitely listen to the fetal heartbeat with a special tube (wooden, plastic or aluminum) during each examination. During the procedure, the expectant mother should lie on her back on the couch.

With each week, the doctor will more and more clearly hear the fetal heartbeat among the sounds of the intestines or uterine vessels. Often the doctor has to look for the most favorable point for using auscultation, because the clarity of tones depends on the position of the fetus, its movements and placenta previa.

With the help of auscultation, it is possible to guess how the baby is located in the womb. If the heartbeat is best heard at the level of the woman's navel, then the baby is in a transverse position. If below the navel or to the left, then the child is in a cephalic presentation. If above the navel - in the pelvic.

It is important that the gynecologist hears the rhythm of the beat. If the heart rate is without rhythm, then hypoxia (in this case, the beat still becomes dull) or congenital heart disease can be suspected.

Sometimes the doctor cannot listen to the heartbeat:

CTG (cardiotocography)

From about 32 obstetric week, a rather effective method for diagnosing heart function - CTG - comes to the fore. This method is good in that it simultaneously records the work of the vessels of the uterus and the fetus. If the pregnancy is completely healthy and the doctor does not suspect abnormalities, then CTG may not be done to a pregnant woman.

Procedure: 2 sensors are attached to the belly of the expectant mother, with which she should stay for about an hour (sometimes 30 minutes is enough). CTG does not affect either the health of the fetus or the condition of the woman.

Cases when cardiotocography is required for:

increased body temperature of the mother (above 38-38.5 degrees);
there is a scar on the uterus after surgery;
the pregnant woman suffers from chronic endocrine or cardiovascular diseases (sinus tachycardia);
gestosis (late toxicosis with the presence of protein in the urine);
premature birth or post-term pregnancy;
during childbirth, use when stimulation of labor is prescribed;
lack of water or polyhydramnios;
IUGR of the fetus (intrauterine growth retardation);
dopplerometry revealed disturbances in blood flow in the arteries;
early maturation of the placenta;
the gynecologist, during auscultation, observes a slowdown, an acceleration of the rhythm, and other disorders.

If the fetal heart rate in response to uterine contractions becomes less frequent, this may indicate abnormalities in the uteroplacental blood flow and fetal hypoxia. It is especially dangerous to reduce the frequency of contractions to 70 or less within 1 minute.

Fetal bradycardia

This complication is an abnormally low fetal heart rate, which is usually temporary. Symptoms of bradycardia: a decrease in heart rate to 110 and below, as well as a slowdown in fetal activity, which can be seen on CTG.

Most often, bradycardia occurs during childbirth, when a woman takes analgesics, synthetic hormones, and drugs that are injected into the epidural space of the spinal cord to relieve pain.

Other causes for bradycardia include low blood pressure in a pregnant woman and cord clamping. When the fetus does not receive enough oxygen, fetal distress occurs, resulting in a slower heart rate. When the mother-to-be lies on her back, pressure builds up that negatively affects a large blood vessel called the superior vena cava. This can slow down the flow of oxygen to the baby in the womb and lead to bradycardia. Many doctors recommend that women after the 2nd trimester avoid resting and sleeping on their backs, it is best to lie on their left side.

Also, fetal bradycardia can be caused by autoimmune diseases of the mother, gestosis, anemia. In this case, treatment of the complication will lead to a normalization of the heart rate.

Congenital malformations can also cause this complication. These may be structural abnormalities that can be refuted or confirmed on an ECG.

Fetal tachycardia

Embryonic tachycardia is not common - it is no more than 0.5-1% of all pregnancies that have been diagnosed.

The gestational age, the duration of the tachycardia, and the presence of cardiac dysfunction can help the doctor determine the nature of the tachycardia.

Tachycardia can range from simple sinus to various "tachyarrhythmias".

from the mother's side: hyperthyroidism or medications taken;
from the fetus: intrauterine infection, hypoxia, fetal anemia, chromosomal abnormalities: trisomy 13 or Turner syndrome.

Treatment: the long-term prognosis with timely treatment is usually favorable, tachycardia resolves within the first year of the child's life.

Oh yes, we almost forgot. The gender of a child cannot be determined by heartbeat, so do not believe in grandmother's tales.

First ultrasound and heartbeat at 6 weeks

Was it so from whom?

The doctor said this case for a couple of days. I trust the doctor, I was carrying out my first pregnancy and has been working in the city hospital for many years. Just wondering, did anyone have something similar?

You do not reach the norm of everything or anything.

i was checked for 8 weeks, I have a heartbeat, my sizes have grown

as well as only positive emotions and less to twist yourself

But to diagnose yourself and start treatment is PPC

At 13 weeks

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6 weeks gestation: baby's heartbeat

The heart is the most important organ, the normal functioning of which is responsible for the functionality of the whole organism. Listening to the heartbeat allows doctors to determine the health of the fetus and its development. For this reason, as soon as the baby's heart begins to beat, at every appointment with the gynecologist, the specialist listens to him and talks about the baby's condition.

How is the heart developed at 6 weeks?

The size of the fetus at 6 weeks is about 6 mm. The organs are just beginning to form, and the first of them is the heart. It is laid in the fourth week. At this time, it does not have a clear structure. Closer to 6 weeks of pregnancy, the heartbeat begins to be heard, the main organ already has the correct shape, although it is not fully developed. But this does not prevent him from saturating the child's body with oxygen and ensuring normal life and development. Only by 8 weeks, the baby's heart will take on a full-fledged form and will only grow in the future. It is impossible to see the heart at 6 weeks on ultrasound, they are too small. But listening to the heartbeat in order to identify the norm is permissible with modern equipment.

Heartbeat within normal limits

At 6 weeks of pregnancy, the baby's heartbeat is rapid - at least 110 beats per minute. But it should not exceed 130 strokes. However, when compared with the further development of the cardiac system, when the strokes become more frequent to 190 for a period of 10 weeks. And only at 14 weeks is an indicator of 160 strokes set, which will accompany the baby until birth. Heartbeat by week helps the mother to independently determine the condition of the baby, if the doctors are silent on this matter.

Why are there deviations?

If at 6 - 8 weeks of pregnancy the heartbeat exceeds 200 beats or less than 80, then this indicates fetal hypoxia, pathologies of the development of the cardiac system and disturbances in physiological processes. The doctor should prescribe additional tests and repeated ultrasound to determine the cause of the irregular heartbeat. An ultrasound heartbeat allows you to see defects in the early stages. As a rule, when confirming this terrible diagnosis, the doctor asks the woman to terminate the pregnancy. Indeed, children with heart defects rarely survive in the womb, and if they are born, then with fatal pathologies that will not allow the baby to fully develop.

Why can't I hear my heartbeat?

A normal heartbeat begins to be heard at 5-6 weeks. But it happens that it is not audible at all or it is heard very poorly. There are several reasons for this: Poor equipment - only modern medical technologies make it possible to hear the fetal heartbeat in the early stages. If, during an ultrasound scan, the doctor says that he does not hear the baby's heart, the woman needs to visit another clinic.

Polyhydramnios and low water - if the water around the baby exceeds the norm, or it is not enough, then this drowns out the sound of the heartbeat. To solve the problem, you need to wait a little and do a second ultrasound. Multiple pregnancy - on ultrasound you can hear a mixed sound, but it is rather difficult to determine which fetus is listening to the heartbeat. Short term - if the term is determined incorrectly, and is less than 5 weeks, then it will be impossible to hear the heartbeat even on ultrasound. The position of the baby - if the fetus lies not pressed against the abdominal wall, but against the opposite wall, then it is very difficult to listen to the heartbeat on ultrasound.

What should a pregnant woman do?

In order for a child to have a normal heartbeat, a woman must follow all the doctor's recommendations. Proper nutrition, light exercise, rejection of bad habits are the main components of a healthy heart in a baby. All that is useful for adults for the cardiac system is useful for children of intrauterine development.

It is very important to include vitamins and trace elements in the diet, especially if the baby's heartbeat is abnormal by weeks. You do not need to take them on your own, you need to consult a doctor in this matter. They must necessarily contain iron, calcium and folic acid. These are essential elements early in life to ensure that your baby has a heart rate that is within weekly limits.

Self-listening heartbeat

Is it possible to independently listen to the fetal heartbeat? Yes, it is possible, but only with the help of a special apparatus. Unfortunately, it is difficult to buy it now. But many mothers know how to listen to the beating of a heart using a stethoscope. But you don't need to be scared if you don't hear anything. At 6 weeks gestation, the heartbeat can only be heard on an ultrasound scan. A stethoscope helps only for 7-9 months. A healthy heart in a baby is a guarantee of his good health and full development. Therefore, it is very important to ask the doctor to listen to the heartbeat if he does not. By counting the number of beats per minute, you can say with confidence about the norm or deviations.

no heartbeat 6 weeks

Bright discharge from the hospital

That's it, I'm in love, help me find)))

The fact that the heart is the most important organ of the human body is not a secret to anyone.

The health of the unborn baby depends on how correctly its formation and development occurs throughout the entire period of a woman's pregnancy.