Is high fetal heartrate a concern?

[ILoveSweetpea]

I had an NST today and the baby's heartrate ranged from 180-205 for the first twenty minutes. The doctor was a bit concerned, I guess, and had me continue on the monitor longer. I think she fell asleep and her heartrate came down to the 166-175 range. With this, the doctor was satisfied that things were OK and sent me home.

What causes a high heartrate? I'm being watched for low amniotic fluid (was 6.1 at last check earlier this week) and I'm 37 1/2 weeks.

Any experience with this? Thanks!

[jecombs]

My DD1 did that when I was pregnant with her. I'm not really sure why it's a concern... When it happened with DD, they sent to L&D to be monitored for a while. Luckily, like your LO, she feel asleep and her heartrate came down.

[MaerynPearl]

Im not sure... mines heartrate has been 160-180 every time s/he has been checked... 160s if sleeping, up to 180 if active...

My doctor says some babies just have faster hearts.

[liz-hippymom]

the only experience i have with a taci baby (high heart rate) was A: when i had an infection 1 week before my due date- i have 102 fever, her heart rates were in the 190-210s. after i took tyelonol it went down. (doc ordered at hospital) and then B: in Labor. her heart rate was 180-190 . she was in distress from my placental slowly peeling away. from what i understand really high heart rates are always a sign of something distressing the baby. i would ask for extra monitoring myself.

[ILoveSweetpea]

Thanks for the responses!

From what I understand 120-160 is the typical range for late third trimester. My doctor did ask if I was running a fever as I am dealing with a bit of a cold. I don't have a fever, but I wonder if my cough and mild cold symptoms are enough to stress her out.

I'm always worried about issues with the placenta since I have mild pre-e and chronic hypertension. I do have a biophysical scheduled for Tuesday, so the fluid level will be checked then which is my other main concern.

I think the doctor was going to send me in for an ultrasound today, but since her heartrate went down to a closer to normal range she felt it wasn't necessary.

I guess all I can do is keep doing kick counts and try not to stress over it. We're getting so close to the end here! Maybe she was just excited because she knew her birthday was coming soon!

[liz-hippymom]

i would tell your doc to schedual the ultrasound anyhow. that "low" heartrate is really high for a sleeping baby... tues is a while away. better safe than sorry

[Calleiah]

I agree, thats very high and an indicator of some kind of stress. Let me ask this, have you taken any cold medication? It's possible it could be due to something you've taken.

BTW, I had a slow high leak and low fluid for the last 3 weeks of my pg with DD2, and the night we thought my water broke, her HR stayed 170-180 the whole time which was very high for her. I know now its because my fluid had a precipitous drop and it freaked her out a bit. At the time, they didnt think my water had broken and the sono tech was terribly and incorrectly measured my fluid at 16 (not remotely possible). I was induced 2 days later after my scheduled sono found my fluid had dropped by 4 points from the 7-8 it had been.
I'd request that sono just to be safe!

[BlackSheepPDX]

OY...this whole story is making me very anxious for you. That sounds like a stressy HR. You've made it so far...I hope this baby comes soon and safe.

[mediumcrunch]

maternal dehydration can cause fetal tachycardia. when I had a fetal hr like that my midwife made me drink about 20 oz and then recheck it, if the hr hadn't come down she was going to send me for IV fluids. i wasn't ill and this was at about 34 weeks. just a thought. make sure you are well hydrated which also can't hurt your oligohydramnios

[Bokonon]

I'm concerned that your doc sent you home with 20 minutes of that kind of heartrate, with all of the complications you've had, and as far along as you are. What is the plan for now, and why wasn't an ultrasound done ASAP? What you are experiencing is not normal, and I'm very concerned that your care providers are waiting until something goes horribly wrong to take action.

[ILoveSweetpea]

I am tempted to make an excuse to go get checked again tomorrow (er... today... it's 2:00 am! LOL!)

She's passed kick counts, but I woke up here at 2:00 am with a sharp sharp pain on my lower left side down low. It's probably just round ligament pain, but since I woke up, I went to the bathroom and it seemed like I may have been leaking fluid. My underwear was wet - and I wear Poise pads due to urine leaks in late pregnancy. It didn't smell like pee, it didn't smell like anything... So it's hard to say for sure what that was.... sweat? pee? fluid?

I did another kick count here at 2:00 am, just to be safe, and she passed. So I feel safe waiting until morning to call.

So my hope is to get an ultrasound tomorrow to just check in with the baby. I'm a bit nervous about... well, a laundry list of things. Mostly fluid levels. I want her fluid to get checked, though, and I don't want to wait until Tuesday.

I know you guys aren't psychic... but I want to say the right thing to the nurses when I call in to ensure a fluid check. If I say I am maybe leaking, would that prompt a check or would they likely just say "call again when you are in labor?" What about this pain, could that be significant? Should I be worried about this pain? (It's sharp, burning kind of pain. It hasn't gone away yet since I woke up an hour ago, but the stabbing part comes and goes at random.)

Sorry if I sound really naive. It just seems like they are resistant to ultrasounds unless they really think they are necessary. I know I could say "I want my fluids checked" but I don't think they would allow that without reason.

Thanks so much for your advice/opinions. I apologize if this post makes no sense... it is 2 am afterall.

[ILoveSweetpea]

Originally Posted by Bokonon

I'm concerned that your doc sent you home with 20 minutes of that kind of heartrate, with all of the complications you've had, and as far along as you are. What is the plan for now, and why wasn't an ultrasound done ASAP? What you are experiencing is not normal, and I'm very concerned that your care providers are waiting until something goes horribly wrong to take action.

This is my concern too. I'm not sure why we are waiting to deliver at this point. I am almost 38 weeks. I have mild preeclampsia, history of low fluid, and now this. I feel like waiting another week to deliver (which is the plan right now) is just giving more opportunity for something to go wrong without a whole lot of benefit to my growing little girl.

So when I left the office today, the plan was that I need to keep doing lots of kick counts, come back on tuesday for a BPP (which was already scheduled anyway), and plan to deliver in a week plus a few days.

I WAS very close, I think, to getting an ultrasound today. But since her heartrate went down the doctor wasn't worried any longer.


....


Oh, and to answer an earlier question... I did take Robutussion the night before, but nothing today. Dehydration is a possibility. While I am drinking a TON of water (100+ oz per day) I am also coughing and blowing my nose a lot - and not to mention mouth breathing! So I'm frequently thirsty.

[claddaghmom]

Originally Posted by ILoveSweetpea

This is my concern too. I'm not sure why we are waiting to deliver at this point. I am almost 38 weeks. I have mild preeclampsia, history of low fluid, and now this. I feel like waiting another week to deliver (which is the plan right now) is just giving more opportunity for something to go wrong without a whole lot of benefit to my growing little girl.

So when I left the office today, the plan was that I need to keep doing lots of kick counts, come back on tuesday for a BPP (which was already scheduled anyway), and plan to deliver in a week plus a few days.

I WAS very close, I think, to getting an ultrasound today. But since her heartrate went down the doctor wasn't worried any longer.


....


Oh, and to answer an earlier question... I did take Robutussion the night before, but nothing today. Dehydration is a possibility. While I am drinking a TON of water (100+ oz per day) I am also coughing and blowing my nose a lot - and not to mention mouth breathing! So I'm frequently thirsty.

I tend to get dehydrated (well clearly not on a medical basis) when I get a cold/sinus infection. Something about the stuffy nose throws my senses off.

Also, if you do suspect a leak, that would require more hydration.

Sending good vibes your way!

[mediumcrunch]

In general I feel lying to providers is a bad idea, BUT if you feel the need for a more thorough check and I would 100% agree with that, going to L&D with a complaint of 'decreased fetal movement' will get you a good and thorough check. Add your possible ruptured BOW and you are set.

[COgirl19]

Originally Posted by ILoveSweetpea

I am tempted to make an excuse to go get checked again tomorrow (er... today... it's 2:00 am! LOL!)

She's passed kick counts, but I woke up here at 2:00 am with a sharp sharp pain on my lower left side down low. It's probably just round ligament pain, but since I woke up, I went to the bathroom and it seemed like I may have been leaking fluid. My underwear was wet - and I wear Poise pads due to urine leaks in late pregnancy. It didn't smell like pee, it didn't smell like anything... So it's hard to say for sure what that was.... sweat? pee? fluid?

I did another kick count here at 2:00 am, just to be safe, and she passed. So I feel safe waiting until morning to call.

So my hope is to get an ultrasound tomorrow to just check in with the baby. I'm a bit nervous about... well, a laundry list of things. Mostly fluid levels. I want her fluid to get checked, though, and I don't want to wait until Tuesday.

I know you guys aren't psychic... but I want to say the right thing to the nurses when I call in to ensure a fluid check. If I say I am maybe leaking, would that prompt a check or would they likely just say "call again when you are in labor?" What about this pain, could that be significant? Should I be worried about this pain? (It's sharp, burning kind of pain. It hasn't gone away yet since I woke up an hour ago, but the stabbing part comes and goes at random.)

Sorry if I sound really naive. It just seems like they are resistant to ultrasounds unless they really think they are necessary. I know I could say "I want my fluids checked" but I don't think they would allow that without reason.

Thanks so much for your advice/opinions. I apologize if this post makes no sense... it is 2 am afterall.

Is it possible your water broke? I would go to L & D!

[MaerynPearl]

If you feel your water is leaking and tell them so, its not likely they will do an ultrasound to check the fluid levels until after they do a quick ph strip test on the fluid you are leaking to see if it is urine or amniotic fluid. If it comes back negative for amniotic fluid, they likely wont worry about the levels.

However, is your side still hurting? I had a sharp pain start on one side and slowly spread throughout a larger area of my stomach and it turned out to be a placental abruption... definitely something that needs hospital care!

[CherryBomb]

That's a really high heart rate. IDK, with all the other stuff and that I can't understand why your OB isn't being more proactive.

[liz-hippymom]

still worried about your baby . any updates? with everything going on- high heart rate, low fluid, failing kick counts- that baby needs to come out. better safe than sorry.

[RedOakMomma]

Any updates, ILoveSweetpea?

[BethSLP]

does anyone have updates on ILoveSweetPea? I keep thinking about this thread and hoping everything turned out OK.

XOXO
B