baby's heart rate

[darcytrue]

At the OB yesterday the nurse said baby's HR was 125. This is the lowest it has been the entire pregnancy. In fact, just a week before it was 154 and that was the lowest, usually it's in the 160 range. I was a little concerned since I had just had a medium orange julius within the last 30 min before my appointment.

Is this something I should be concerned about? I've felt baby move each day and today she has moved the same as usual.

The OB I saw yesterday was a different one in the practice, one I'd never seen before, and he was a complete arrogant a$$hat. : All he said when I showed concern about the HR being 125 was that the normal range is 120-160, which ofcourse I already knew. He was one of those OBs that rush in and out and it's all routine for them.

[2boyzmama]

Do you know what YOUR heartrate is? Because mine is high in pregnancy, I'm often over 100, once a student midwife was messing around with the doppler and thought she had baby's heartrate, but it was only like 108, the midwife took my pulse and said "that's mom's...keep looking" and sure enough she found it in the 140s on the other side of my abdomen.

[clemrose]

Variability in the heartrate is key; my midwife never writes down a single number (like 154) but will say it is in the 150s...she listens long enough to hear for that variability. So this pregnancy the baby has been in the 160s all the way down to the 130s.

Had you been laying on your back for a while when they found the heart rate? If I've been on my back after being palpated and measured then the heart rate sometimes drops. Often my mw has me roll onto my side and she listens then--heartrate pops right back up.

I personally wouldn't be concerned unless I wasn't feeling movement. But, if you know where the back is, you could try having someone listen ear-belly--at this late time of pregnancy they maybe able to hear the baby's heart.

[turtlemamameg]

I, too, had the lowest haert tones at my last appointment. They were 124...and are usually in the 140-150 range. It concerned me slightly, but this baby still seems active and happy so I figure that the mw's would have expressed concern if they were actually concerned. Usually we listen with the doppler, which wakes baby up and therefore gives a higher number. Last time we only listened with the fetoscope and baby was in rest mode, so I try to remember that as well. I am glad to know that others have had this experience as well, though.

[darcytrue]

Thanks everyone. I feel a little better about it now. The baby has definitely been active since Friday's appt so I haven't been worried over the weekend. When she checked the heart rate she said the baby seemed to be moving a lot (which I didn't feel myself at that time ) and I had just gotten up on the table for her to check the HR so I hadn't been laying down but a few seconds. It did take her quite some time to find the baby's HR though so it's possible she was mistaken. I wouldn't put it past the people at my OB.

[~Laura~]

At my 39 week appt/home visit this weekend, the HR went from normal (not sure what normal is for me - we rarely talk about it) to low 120s in the span of her timing on her watch. She asked me to turn to my side and it went higher again. She said it was above 120 when it went low, which is all she cares about, since that's still "normal." I still lay on my back at times to sleep (well, I wake up that way, at least), but the baby is clearly not enjoying it.

So I wouldn't worry either - it seems like there are lots of common experiences with that recently!

Laura