In today’s educational articles we are going to discuss increased fetal heart rate during labor and delivery. This post is the flipside of a post I did a few days ago in which we talk about decreased fetal heart rate during labor and delivery. Both conditions, when coupled with non-reassuring readings on the electronic fetal heart monitor can pose a danger to babies in some instances.
It is imperative for doctors and nurses to accurately diagnose and treat medical conditions as they arise during labor and delivery. Failure to do so can in some cases lead to disastrous results for not only mother, but for baby too.
How Do Doctors Know How Well A Baby Is Doing During Labor & Delivery?
Understanding how well a baby is tolerating a vaginal delivery can help doctors accurately diagnose and treat problems as they may arise. The electronic fetal heart monitor is crucial in assisting doctors and nurses in this task.
The monitor can be attached to the mother’s stomach and in some instances, it can be inserted vaginally. One purpose of the monitor is to give doctors and nurses a sense in real time of the baby’s heart rate. A normal heart rate will be between 120 to 160 bpm.
Not only can the monitor detect heart rate, but it can also give readings on things such as fetal variability, acceleration and deceleration patterns, and the mother’s contraction patterns. All these things taken as a whole can give doctors and nurses an overall feeling as to how labor and delivery is progressing.
Increased Fetal Heart Rate During Labor And Delivery (Fetal Tachycardia)
The medical term for an increase fetal heart rate during labor and delivery is fetal tachycardia. Fetal tachycardia can be defined as a fetal baseline heart rate above 160 bpm. As with fetal bradycardia, fetal tachycardia can be dangerous for a baby especially when it is coupled with other troubling signs during labor and delivery.
Some of these troubling signs can be late deceleration patterns on the electronica fetal heart monitor. In addition to late deceleration patterns, minimal fetal variability can also be problematic for a baby. As was discussed above, these signs on the electronic fetal heart monitor can alert doctors and nurses that the fetal strip readings are no longer reassuring. This is why it is important to view bouts of fetal tachycardia in conjunction with the totality of the labor and delivery experience.
One of the main things that doctors, and nurses must be aware of is a baby’s blood and oxygen supply during labor and delivery. If there are reductions or obstructions to blood and oxygen during labor and delivery, then the traumatic brain injury hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy can be the result in some instances.
If your baby had an increased fetal heart rate or fetal tachycardia and has now suffered the traumatic brain injury HIE and you have questions, what I invite you to do is to pick up the phone and call me. I speak with families all the time about these issues, and I will be happy to listen to your baby’s story. My contact information can be found below.
Marcus B. Boston, Esq.
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 700
Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
1-833-4 BABY HELP
