Baby has irregular heartbeat. 35 weeks. Very scared

[user1471927379]

Hi everyone so a little background information I suffer with anxiety and had decreased fetal movement for a while so was admitted to hospital until baby is born. Shes been fine these few days but this morning i was put on ctg monitor and noticed my baby had an irregular heartbeat, would miss a beat every 10 beats or so. I am terrified. This has never happened before and during the trace she was moving fine. Midwife came in and said trace was fine but i'm going to mention it to doctor when they come on their rounds. I've had about 5 scans and my baby has been fine in all of them, no problems at all. So i'm just really scared as to why this is happening. Anyone have anything similar happen? I'm so worried

Have the midwives mentioned the irregular heartbeat? Im sure they would mention it if there was something wrong. All my babies hearts sounded strange on monitors, especially if they had been moving about and then disappearing from the trace.

Try to relax.

This sounds like your anxiety talking. From what I can tell, none of the HCPs has mentioned this, so from a medical perspective your baby does not have an irregular heartbeat, and you have made this 'diagnosis' yourself. Any cardiac irregularities will have been picked up from the 20 week mark, so if nothing has been mentioned, chances are nothing is wrong. Also, a missed beat every 10 beats isn't an example of a heart irregularity. By all means mention it to the doctors, but please also mention how anxious you're feeling - this needs to be dealt with before the baby is born

No the midwifes did not mention anything as the trace was fine. I wa just listening over 30 minutes in the room by myself as midwife was busy and it sounded like it missed a beat consistently. Im trying to relax and my anxiety makes things 100x worse than they are but i will mention it to dr. Ive been referred for my anxiety and should be hearing from them this week. I am just so scared, it has never sounded like that before. The trace didn't pick it up either but i could hear it.

Talk to the doctor but if there is an irregular beat it's really, really common & almost always nothing to be concerned about. Your baby's heart is not wired up in the same way as yours at the moment, once they're born they nearly all grow out of having an irregular beat. Even if they don't it's very, very rare for it to be any sort of issue

If the trace didn't pick it up then I'd try not to worry (easier said than done). Why not phrase the question to the doctors something like 'it sounds like the heartbeat goes quiet for a beat on the monitor, why is that?' If hearing the heartbeat isn't helpful ask them to turn off the sound, you might also want to talk to the MWs about your anxiety and start getting some help with that before the baby arrives.

Good luck with everything.

Thank you, i realise I definitely do need help with my anxiety as it's affecting many aspects of my daily life, sometimes i will stay up all night worrying. I will definitely be getting that sorted before she arrives. It just really scared me to hear that as midwife had a listen on doppler around 10pm and all was fine and normal. I just worry all this anxiety has affected my baby.

I mentioned this to midwife and she told me she would have a listen in with doppler for a bit later although even if it does sound weird there is nothing to worry about as their heartbeat changes when they are born plus all scans have been fine. Put my mind at ease. X

Just an update. Midwife put me back on ctg and said that i was right and my baby was skipping a beat. Although she said not to worry but to speak to drs on rounds tomorrow. I am absolutely terrified. Been crying since

My DS did have an irregular heartbeat from around 30 weeks which started out as harmless atrial ectopic beats. This usually resolves before or at birth. His condition did became a more complicated type of arrhythmia - atrial flutter. It has been challenging for his doctors but he has been in sinus rhythm for 2 years and hopefully will be off his medication soon. Nobody would ever know he has a heart condition so try not to worry.

Im trying my best not to worry although i just completely broke down infront of midwife. Normally my anxiety is irrational but hearing my baby skip a beat on the monitor is so scary for me. When their is proof and midwife also said she does skip one. I can't stop crying and being in the hospital has made my anxiety even worse although I thought it would be better. I just feel trapped and depressed. If anything happened to my daughter I honestly wouldn't be able to carry on with life. Don't think this will get any better until she's born tbh.

Not knowing creates a lot of anxiety so I hope you will get some clarity when a consultant reviews the trace or listens to your baby. My ds had an irregular heartbeat for 5 weeks before it became a serious condition at 35 weeks and this is very rare - the consultant had only seen 2 cases in 15 years. All I can say as someone who has been in your position is put your trust in the doctors and ask as many questions as you need to. I hope you know what is going on soon.

I'm a midwife and it's not uncommon for unborn babies to have this. Ive never known it cause a problem for a baby once they're born. Stats say that about 2% of babies have this.

Once the baby is born his/her circulation system changes completely.

To be honest it happens in adults as well. I have my pulse checked several times a month (due to training staff) and I had an ectopic heartbeat picked up when doing this. Sometimes it's there and gets noticed and sometimes my heartbeat is fine. I did an ecg on myself and it was fine!

Notuncommonandcan be developmental, usually disappears as they near term. Hope you get the care and reassurance you need tomorrow xx

Thanks everyone. I think just hearing it on the trace really scared me although the midwifes did assure me this is not something they worry about because they hear it all the time. I just pray all is okay. Trying not to be pathetic & finally managed to stop crying after an hour and a half. I don't know how im gonna manage another 5 weeks of this worrying.

Hello I'm not sure but I know my brother has an irregular heartbeat and he's 40 now and he's very healthy! Runs 5 miles every day. Please try not to worry

Thank you, i'll try not to. I guess if the professionals aren't worried neither should i be. A LOT easier said than done

It's called ectopic beats, actually quite common I have it, my sister and brother also have it. I have done military service, my sister has a professional career in sport. Our hearts oddly skip beats every so often and has done since we were babies. All otherwise fit and healthy

Even if your baby is born with a heart murmur it can work out fine. My son had one and after 3 days in SCBU he was fine with no problems. As others have said it is most likely just the ectopic beat.

Thank you for all the reassurance, i just hope thats all it is. Doesn't help i have reduced movements either and her heartrate is always high,its always been like that but I don't want het to be straining it at all. I just hope this clears up soon, if not before birth after.

Hi just to update. It got much better until yesterday. Her heart had stopped skipping and if it did it would only happen about once in 5 minutes so very unregular and that put my mind at rest. But yesterday after a day of good movements i feel great until i was put on monitor and heard her heart would regularly skip every 3 beats. I mentioned it to midwife who seemed very unconcerned just said shes a bit jumpy atm and when the drs came none took no notice as the trace was not picking it up. It has happened again this morning so i mentioned it to another midwife who said she believed me that it was happening but the trace was not picking it up and that was fine so not to worry. I've mentioned it to 5 doctors now,none were concerned. The logical side of me is telling me its nothing to worry about and these people are medical professionals and if they were worried they would act fast as they have in the past when they thought she was in distress. But the anxiety side of me is very scared and worried. I'm just going to keep an eye on movements and she seems to be wriggling around today so i guess it's bothering me more than it is her. Oh and another thing I've started having mild period cramps this morning (isn't relating to skipped beats as it was happening long before i was having cramps) and the healthcare assistant came it to take my blood pressure,glanced at the ctg and said to me 'oh your having contractions' although midwife didn't really take no notice as they aren't regular at all. I'm only 36 weeks so I want to meet my princess but not now! Its too early, although i have a gut feeling she wants to make an appearance soon. Ughh. Quite frightened at the moment

Every human being on this planet has an irregular heart beat at some point.

Many people's heart beat alters with their breathing - obviously not the case before baby is born but any change in position, kick, blink etc can cause a blip.

The other thing that might be happening is that the signal is getting 'lost' possibly with you moving.

Have you ever heard the story of the elderly couple? One is on a hospital ward and the other visits, they kiss at the end of their visit and the heart monitor beeps - it's usually taken as 'how sweet, heart skipping a beat after all these years' it's much more likely to be an artifact caused by movement of the electrodes.

Thanks pp. i take a little bit of comfort in that. Its all so frustrating and i'll never feel like she's safe till she's in my arms.

I wonder if this happens to all babies at some point because sometimes its there & others its not. But i guess i'm just more likely to hear it because i hear my baby's heartbeat on monitor twice a day and obsessively listen even though i try not to. But other mums may only listen to baby's heartbeat at midwife appointments once every two weeks. The midwifes got me thinking that after how regular they say it seems.

I feel like a complete an utter fool and don't know who to turn to. I have been crying yet again for the last hour and stupidly broke down infront of midwife who told me that my baby is fine and even though she is skipping beats if it was anything that wasn't normal it would show up on trace and there's nothing that can be done until after birth. I just feel like her heart is gonna stop beating one day since it has started to skip beats again really frequently. I'm so scared. Ive spoken to all my bf and my mum who told me to stop worrying and if that was gonna happen they would monitor me even closer than they already are. One positive thing is she is moving well today. I know i need to think logically and if my baby was in danger they would know pretty quickly its just one of the worst things to hear. I am being seen for my anxiety tomorrow but I don't know how it will ever go away if i keep constantly hearing my daughter skip beats. I know everyone has said its rarely anything serious but i'm just so on edge. :(

I think your anxiety problem is the main problem op, they need to help you get it under control. Thankfully your baby is happy and healthy, and you'll be meeting her very soon.

My unborn son has been diagnosed with a life threatening birth defect called Diaphragmatic Hernia, and it's a 50/50 chance of survival at the minute, I might not even take him home. Just keep reminding yourself that your baby is healthy and will be in your arms very soon.