What is a Fetal Heart Monitor?
The fetal heartbeat monitoring, or cardiotocography (CTG) in the medical world, is a way to record the heartbeat of the fetus (unborn baby at the 10th week inside his mother’s womb) and the contractions of the uterus during pregnancy period. The gadget used to perform these functions is called cardiotocograph, or in a more common language the external fetal heart monitor or the electronic fetal monitor (EFM). This method is used to detect any distress of the fetus inside the mother’s womb.
Doctors Orvan Hess and Edward Hon were the first noted to invent the invasive method to monitor fetal heartbeat. Later on, Dr. Konrad Hammacher developed a non-invasive and beat-to-beat means of cardiotocography during the antepartum stages (the phase before the actual delivery of the child, especially during labor) of the fetus.
There are different types of fetal monitors being used by many doctors all over the world. With the help of these devices, specialists can perform contraction and non-stress tests, Doppler tests and fetal scalp monitorings.
A fetal scalp electrode is an instrument that is used to monitor fetal heartbeat while the fetus is still inside the uterus. This test, an internal method of monitoring, does not use ultrasound but results to more accurate observation. The electrode is placed directly on the scalp of the fetus through the cervix of the mother. The electrode has a wire that is connected to a monitor that will display the results. However, some claim that they feel rather uncomfortable during the test. Just a word of caution, this method is only applied when the water of the womb is broken and if the external methods of fetal heart monitor fails.
The external, non-invasive methods of monitoring a baby heartbeat are done on the skin and do not intend to injure a tissue. The mother simply needs to sit with her knees and back slightly inclined with a soft pillow under the right hip, making the uterus move to the left. She can also move anyway she likes, in what position she wants, as long as the uterus is shifted to the left, and occasionally on the right. Electrodes which are very sensitive will be placed on the woman’s belly. These electrodes, which are attached to the monitor, will detect and record the heartbeat of the fetus, and the occurrences and length of uterine contractions. The results are usually printed out or they appear on the monitor.
The non-stress test and contraction test are other methods. Most of the time, these tests are done separately: one for the non-stress and another one for the contraction. The non-stress test is conducted on the 27th week of pregnancy. It measures the acceleration of the fetal heart rate. Contraction test, on the other hand, observes and measures the placenta’s capability to provide the fetus enough oxygen while under contractions which serve as the pressure. The position for these tests is similar to that of the previous method.
To hear a simulation of the fetus’ heartbeat, a fetal heart Doppler is used. Some models display the observations on a monitor (heart rate in beats per minute). The use of monitor is called Doppler Auscultation. This fetal heart monitor allows everyone, not just the user, to hear the actual heart beat of the child (unlike fetal stethoscope), which proves the whole family a sense of excitement and assurance.
