Fast fetal hear rate

[47chromosomes]

This baby has a quick heart rate. A lot quicker than my sons was. It is 160bpm at my prenatal appointments, and during our ultrasound was 171bpm. Does this mean anything? The reason I ask is a heartrate over 160bpm would risk us out of our homebirth. Our paralell care providers just seemed to think the 171bpm was because he was moving around during the scan. Just wondering what you all could tell me about this. Thanks!

[mosesface]

why does that risk you out?

my little one's heart rate has been 160-164 since we first heard it at 11 wks and my mw has never said a negative thing about it (i'm 24w now and we listen at every appt).

[MoreThanApplesauce]

Those are normal bpm as far as I'm concerned. They were normal for my LO, anyway.

[Barcino]

I had an ultrasound this week 9 weeks - due to some thyroid issues (had to rule out twins for proper dosage adjustment on a rx) and the hb was at 180. They told me it was totally normal. It does peak at 9-10 weeks and then it starts going a bit slower :)

[Emmalina]

My ds was 160-170 at every appointment, they never said it was a worry. I thought that was normal!

[LianneM]

That was normal for my DS as well, and we had a homebirth.

[cubasianchica]

do u know what your having? reason I ask is because there is an old wives tale that says girls heart beats are typically faster than boys. Higher than 150 Im told means a girl...that might be it.

[47chromosomes]

why does that risk you out?

my little one's heart rate has been 160-164 since we first heard it at 11 wks and my mw has never said a negative thing about it (i'm 24w now and we listen at every appt).

I don't know, that's why I thought I would post--to see if it indicates something unfavorable. We just had our free consultation with the HB practice I want to use. In the handout on safety there is a section about reasons they would recommend transfer to a hospital during labor. It includes: "A baseline FHT below 100 or greater than 160, if birth is not imminent, or evidence of fetal distress as indicated by FHT auscultation."

I guess this does not risk me out--maybe that was a bad way to put it--but if this baby is doing the fast heart rate thing before we even get to labor, then I can only see us heading to the hospital when if happens in labor. I just wondered if having a fast heart rate might mean I should look into something. IDK, it's probably just normal for this little guy. Homebirthing is a financial sacrifice we are making to give our baby the best welcome to the world, but if we have no choice but to end up at our local hospital (which isn't a bad place--it's actually really great) then I will hire my midwife as a doula and save some cash. Ultimately, I will just talk to my midwife about it, but wondered if anyone had some experience or information. Thanks!:p

[Barcino]

The further along you get the slower it becomes. As the baby grows bigger the heart rate slows down. I would not worry but ask them to clarify.
How far along are you?

[leafwood]

Dd's HR was always btwn 155-175. I do remember during labor it was lower (b/c at one point while I got anxious my HR was higher than hers ;)

I think it's totally fine.

This time the HR has been around 130-140 and the MW keeps telling me she thinks it's a boy (based on the old wivestale).

[Amandamanda]

the "normal" range varies so much i wouldn't even worry unless it was consistantly under 100 or over 200. with this pregnancy, the FHR has always been 145-155, excpet for one time when the little one kicked the doppler and its hr raced to 185. my mw said that was totally fine and at my next appt it was right back down to "normal"

don't worry mama :)

[*Aimee*]

My Baby's was 185 at 10 w and the doctor said anything from 135-195 is normal.

[sg784]

do u know what your having? reason I ask is because there is an old wives tale that says girls heart beats are typically faster than boys. Higher than 150 Im told means a girl...that might be it.

Yeah that is the old wives tale and I know many many moms who it coincides with however if you google it you will find that science has disproved it over and over and over again.

I still havent given up hope though! my DD's hb was always over 160 and so far we have had hb's for this one as low as 120 and no higher than 150.

OP: I really wouldnt worry. i have heard of even 180 being normal.

[*Aimee*]

K like I said earlier my baby's heart rate was 185 and nobody said anything and later we looked it up and saw it was normal. But this post was freaking me out so I decided to look again and here is what I found, look at the chart, that heart rate is TOTALLY normal! YAY!

http://www.in-gender.com/Gender-Prediction/Fetal-Heart-Rate.aspx

[47chromosomes]

Thanks for all the reasurance. I think I will just have a chat with the midwives to be sure we are at an understanding for what is normal for this baby. Oh, and by the way, it is a boy, so there goes the old wives tale for us!

[cubasianchica]

Yeah that is the old wives tale and I know many many moms who it coincides with however if you google it you will find that science has disproved it over and over and over again.

I still havent given up hope though! my DD's hb was always over 160 and so far we have had hb's for this one as low as 120 and no higher than 150.

OP: I really wouldnt worry. i have heard of even 180 being normal.

yes....i know that is why i mentioned its an "old wives tale"... i was trying to let you know it doesnt mean something is wrong. if you are that worried just ask your dr. if there is really something wrong your dr should disclose that to you. good luck

[onlyboys]

A baseling FHT is the regular rate, much like the resting heart rate for us. A higher baseline could be indicative of an issue, but a baby's heartbeat going up to 185 is not worrisome.

I wouldn't worry about it, and it won't risk you out of a homebirth. :)

[jerawo]

For me, a fetal heart rate above 180 would send up warning flags but that is because I have Graves' Disease.

[DBZ]

With my first I went to an intervention happy OB and he didn't bat an eyelash at numbers like 170 and 180.

[LittleLlama]

I looked at a LOT of graphs of fetal heartrates and genders, while science has *disproved* the theory that high heartrate means girl, the graphs certainly look like it's more common... and yeah, at 36w my little gal had a HR of 155 and they said it was "perfect".