1. Whats So Important About the Fetal Heart Rate and the

NUR 148 Ch18

• What's So Important About the Fetal Heart Rate and the

Uterine Contractions?Answer Fetal Oxygenation

• Auditory and/or visual representation of number

of time fetal heart beats per minute

Answer Fetal Heart Rate/Tones

• Normal range of fetal heart beat

Answer 110-160 bpm

• The fetal heart develops certain patterns which can be auscultated or seen, that indicate if

the

fetus is receiving an adequate supply of oxygen

Answer Fetal Heart Rate Patterns

• assessed during labor by evaluating how the fetal heart responds to labor contractions

Answer Fetal well-being

• Tools for Assessing the FHR

Answer

• Hand-held doppler, 1 / 3

• Continuous External fetal monitor,
• Fetoscope,
• Continuous Internal fetal monitor

• • How often are the contractions coming?

Answer Contraction frequency

• • How long does each contractions last?

Answer Contraction duration

• • How strong are the contractions?

Answer Contraction intensity

• • Does the uterus return to a non-contracted state between contractions? It's supposed to

relax between contractions.

Answer Uterine resting tone

• Tools for Assessing Uterine Contractions

Answer

• The Human Hand,

• External
• Internal continuous contraction monitoring

• Why So Much Monitoring?

Answer some baby's don't react well to stress of contrac- tions

• Labor is physiologically stressful to the 2 / 3

fetus because, Blood flow (O2) to fetus is during each contraction

Answer in- terrupted or stops

• • Especially in fetuses who are already have problems associated with decreased placental

blood flow

Answer Increases risk for fetal hypoxia

• problems associated with decreased placental blood flow

Answer

• Hypertension,

• Diabetes,
• Maternal or fetal hemorrhage,
• IUGR, (Intrauterine growth restriction)
• Effects of some epidural medications

• What happens when a fetus becomes hypoxic?

Answer Untreated fetal hypoxia lead to hypoxemia, to

anaerobic metabolism, to production of lactic acid, to fetal acidosis, to cellular/tis- sue/organ damage, to fetal death.

• Acidosis

Answer Blood pH of under , The lower the pH, the more damage to fetal tissues and organs

Answer 7.35

• Poorly oxygenated fetuses do not and they become acidotic - if not treated in a timely
• / 3