Fetal heartbeat at 28 weeks

[DJBebe]

hi all. I had my 28 week midwife today and baby's heartbeat was 124. On NHS website it says the heartbeat should be 140. The midwife didn't make any reference towards the heartbeat being too slow or anything but it makes me feel a little bit nervous as it is a bit lower than the average.
What is/was your baby's HB at the same stage?

My baby’s heartbeat was 130 at my 28 week appointment and the midwife wasn’t concerned at all. At my 31 week it had gone up to 140 and at my 34 week appointment today it was 150

Anywhere between 110bpm and 160bpm is normal, if it wasn't the midwife will have done something about it!

Try not to worry too much, if the midwife had any concerns she would have let you know and done something about it

International guidelines say that a normal heartbeat at 28 weeks gestation is between 110 and 160 bpm so you're well within the normal range.

124 is fine, the normal range is quite wide I believe. Your midwife would definitely have said something if she was concerned

124 is perfectly normal. As a baseline 110-160bpm is right, although it can be lower at later gestations, and may be much higher during periods of activity.

If the midwife had any concerns at all about your baby’s heart rate you would be sent in to the maternity unit immediately.

Sorry to jump in but I have my 28 week appt on Saturday and I was wondering what to expect? Due to covid I haven't had any face to face midwife appts yet in my pregnancy so this is my first one! What sort of tests and checks will I have?

I was monitored at just over 28 weeks and over the course of an hour baby’s her great went from 100-180 for varying lengths of time. Perfectly normal to vary a lot and a tiny snapshot won’t give you a full picture.

@bluemoon2468 my 28 week appointment involved checking BP and urine plus having 28 week bloods taken. My bump was measured and the midwife listened for baby's heartbeat.
I also got my whooping cough vaccination then.

@sel2223 thank you 😊

@sel2223 did they feel for the position of the baby?

My midwife has a feel of where baby is when she is about to listen to the heartbeat, I think so she can find the right spot first time. She often doesn't comment on other than general conversation type things "oh your curled up all nice and comfy" etc. She has always been bum up though so I don't know whether she would have mentioned if she was bum down.

@bluemoon2468 at 28 weeks position is of no real consequence. Plenty of babies are breech or transverse still at that gestation. They might have a quick feel or they might not.

@bluemoon2468 as above, the midwife generally has a check and makes a little comment as she's feeling around for where to put the doppler and it normally gets recorded on my notes.
Our little ones move around a lot though so whatever position they are in at 28 weeks doesn't really matter.