high feotal heart beat?? Alan??

[*noni*e*]

this morning i went to the birth centre coz i was worried about bubs movements but when they put me on the monitor bubs hb was going between 195 and 200 setting off the machine... it stayed between 180 and 200 for quite a while still setting off the machine but the midwives just kept coming and stopping it... they told me its because i have a cold and baby was reacting to it so they put me on a drip.. her hb then fluxuated between about 150 and 180 they ended up letting me off the monitor once i had a base hb of 155... they let me go home just told me to keep up the fluids but i am really worried coz how will i even know if its going that high again?? and what kind of damage could that do to the baby? i'm really freaked out about the whole thing!!! bubs hb has always been a bit of a fast one usually sitting between 150 and 170 but this really has me freaked out because the first midwive who put it on was just staring at it when it was up around 195 then asked someone else to look at it who didn't tell me anything either, they both looked worried but wouldn't tell me anything just assuring me it was because i had a cold but i didn't have a temp or anything?? sorry its so long i am just really scared and confused!!!!

[Alan]

Hi Nonie
It is not unusual for your baby’s heart rate to get as high as 200 for a short time. But this will usually only happen when your baby is moving. However your illness can have an effect on your baby’s heart rate. I would not be overly worried to see bubs rate at 200 for a short time (less than 20 mins). If the rate was high for about 15mins then I would like to keep an eye on it over the next few days. I would advise you to go to the birth centre every day for the next couple of days just to get the heart rate checked.

[Tobily]

If you're a bit dehydrated (which can happen with a cold because you're making lots of snot lol) that can raise the baby's heartbeat. I had a similar drama when I was pregnant with DS and had a stomach virus - I got a bit dehydrated, went into hospital for monitoring and his HR was hovering around 190-200. After a night on a drip (no fun) it was fine the next morning and I went home.
It was a bit rough of the midwives not to tell you anything - I HATED it when I was pregnant if I was on monitors and they'd just look at it and not say anything, it's a sure fire way to do a pregnant person's head in! Sometimes they forget that you're hanging on their every word and reaction in a situation like that I think.
I'd probably want to have it checked again as Alan said, but it's likely that it is related to your cold so try not to freak out too much...that won't help bub's heartrate come down either

[*noni*e*]

thanks guys that really helps me feel better!!
i am not sure how long the hb stayed high it was fluxuating quite a bit.. itseemed like an eternity to me ofc because the bloody machine was beeping!!! they didn't ask me to come back just to keep my normal appt on sunday (but they are extremely busy atm heaps of september bubs) my gp however has a doppler do u think i should check in with him so he can check it or do u mean i should be monitored by ctg???

[Alan]

A doppler is OK but a CTG can give you more information

[Trish]

Noni, I was sick when I went into labour with Tehya. Had been off for a few days and had a temp.

We found that in early labour I had a temp, bubs heartrate was also up. I took some panadol, got my temp down and her heartrate went back down too.

Again later on in labour, when my panadol had worn off, my temp spiked again and so did her heartrate. I did the same thing again and all was fine.

I wish you well with your upcoming birth hun. I'm sure all will be fine