Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Flip

Original poster

Heartbeat - slower than usual, then faster. Don't understand...

15 replies

Rila · 13/03/2008 16:49

I was just at the midwife's and checked my baby's heartbeat (25+6) and it was quite slow. Not dangerously so (she didn't say the number) but to me it sounded noticeably slower than usual (it always sounds crazily fast). She did say it was nothing to worry about and that that happens occasionally and then the baby moved a bit and she moved the doppler and the heartbeat got faster again (145) so I know I should just trust her if she says it's ok but it's been so fast every time I've had it listened to (and she's always said how good that is), which is about 8 times now (same time of day, same amount of 'exertion' for my part before etc) that I wondered if it could mean anything.

Sorry if I sound ridiculous and thanks in advance. Rx

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

belgo · 13/03/2008 16:51

Are you definite that the slow heartbeat was the baby's heartbeat and not yours?

Apart from that, I don't know what a slow then faster heartbeat means.

belgo · 13/03/2008 16:53

I think a normal heartbeat for the baby is between 120-160.

Original poster

Rila · 13/03/2008 16:53

Hi Belgo. Yes, she said it was the baby's heartbeat. Was slower than usual but then the baby moved and it was faster again.

OP posts:

belgo · 13/03/2008 16:54

Is it possible for you to ring your midwife and ask for more explanation? It's a shame that you've been left worried like this.

Original poster

Rila · 13/03/2008 16:55

Thanks for second bit of message Belgo! It was 145 I think when she said it was faster. I don't know what the slower number was but hopefully can't have been below 120 as didn't sound that different. I'm sure she would have done something if too low, I was just surprised/concerned because been the same every check-up.

OP posts:

Original poster

Rila · 13/03/2008 16:58

Keep cross posting, sorry! Unfortunately she's gone home for the day and don't think she's in tomorrow. I hate making a fuss (this is my first baby and I'm sure she's absolutely sick of my questions!) when she seems unconcerned and always end up coming home and logging on here hoping for some advice!

OP posts:

belgo · 13/03/2008 16:58

if it was just a little slower then usual, but still within normal range, then maybe the baby was just sleeping, and then woke up?

lucysnowe · 13/03/2008 17:02

When my GP checked my bub's heartbeat he mentioned that the speed was fluctuating a bit - but that was a good sign because that's what it was meant to do! I know that when I was monitored for half an hour it did change quite a lot - I only had to shift a little to bring the speed up a little. Def check with your m/w though.

Original poster

Rila · 13/03/2008 17:02

Maybe you're right, a very comforting thought anyway! As I said sorry about sounding silly, just because been the same speed every time before. But the sleeping thing makes sense. Thank you so much for keeping answering!

OP posts:

Kezza7779 · 13/03/2008 17:04

Hiya, dont panic!!! Babies heart beats are much slower when they are sleeping, so perhaps little one was having a nap and then woke up. The midwife would of took action if she had been concerned. Its completely normal. I have a home doppler and listen reg to babies heart beat sometimes its slower than others, one of the warnings i had frm my midwife when getting the doppler was dont panic when the heart rate chnages or u cat hear it at all and explained that babies heart rate lowers when its asleep as does ours!!!! CHILL x x

Original poster

Rila · 13/03/2008 17:05

Thanks very much Lucy. I suppose it would absolutely make sense for the heartbeat to change seeing as ours do all the time. Must have been very interesting to hear the heartbeat over such a long period! V happy to hear fluctuation is good, thank you! Will email my midwife and hope she checks at some point. Thank you again!

OP posts:

Original poster

Rila · 13/03/2008 17:08

Thanks Kezza , will indeed try to chill now. Feel a bit stupid, hadn't crossed my mind till you and Belgo said it, that baby could have been sleeping. I was going to order a doppler for myself and my mother said there was no way I should get one, I guess she was right! Thanks very much.

OP posts:

MrsMacaroon · 14/03/2008 00:07

I had a nightmare experience with my first pregnancy when at a regular check the heartbeat was slow and really wonky...DH was with me and midwife looked v worried so we were packed off to the hospital to be monitered. Long story short- the heartbeat fluctuated between slowish and fast which is NORMAL- what wasn't normal was it picked up an irregular ectopic beat. There was talk of operations/pacemakers etc and I was shitting myself. A follow up appointment was made for a couple of weeks where the heartbeat was back to normal. The doc at that appointment said that the baby may have been compressing the cord. Scary stuff! Slow then fast is normal though- when you're monitered for a long period of time it goes up and down all the time.

amytheearwaxbanisher · 14/03/2008 00:17

mabey the lo was asleep and not moving so heartbeat was a bit slower and woke up and moved which made it faster?

Biccy · 14/03/2008 00:32

I had a funny heart rate experience at 37 weeks. Normal midwife appt and the rate was 108 which is 2 below what they would have 'accepted'. I got packed off to hospital and put on a monitor at which point it looked like heart rate was 87 resulting in a doctor flying in and standing over me menacingly with an IV in her hand... within seconds heart rate jumped to 140ish and remained normal for the next 2 hours. Scan was normal etc. It did for my planned home birth a I was guilt tripped hugely into changing to a hospital birth. We had a very normal birth, and dd's heart rate was perfect throughout, so much so that they let me push for longer than their protocol normally allows. Lady who did the scan that scary day said 'bet they picked up your heartbeat'. Long and the short of this post: if the midwife was not concerned I don't think you should be, and agree that baby was probably just having a rest!

Flip