Weak fetal heartbeat, is it a bad sign for pregnancy?

In medical terms, a weak fetal heart rate is called fetal bradycardia. Quoting from Radiopaedia, this condition is characterized by a fetal heart rate below 100 beats per minute. What causes the fetal heartbeat that is difficult to hear during pregnancy? Is this condition dangerous for the development of the fetal heart? The following is the full explanation.

The cause of the fetal heartbeat is not detected

Basically, the baby's body begins to form a circulatory system, including the heart, when the gestational age reaches 3 weeks.

Then at 5-6 weeks of gestation, the fetal heart will beat for the first time. This heart rate can be known when pregnant women perform an ultrasound examination.

In an ultrasound examination, the doctor will know the overall condition of the fetus.

A weak fetal heart rate can be seen from your baby's heart rate below 100 beats per minute.

In fact, quoted from Radiopaedia, the average normal fetal heart rate is 100-120 beats per minute at 6-7 weeks of gestation.

Then it will increase at 9 weeks of gestation which reaches 180 beats per minute.

In addition to checking the fetal heart rate, in an ultrasound examination in the first trimester (1-13 weeks of gestation), the doctor will also monitor:

The age of the fetus that will be used to estimate the time of delivery.
Check whether the fetus is twins or not.
Knowing whether the fetus is growing and developing properly.

However, not all parents will immediately hear the fetal heartbeat when doing the first ultrasound.

Quoting from American Pregnancy, the cause of an undetected fetal heartbeat can be due to several factors, namely:

His voice was too weak.
The condition of a pregnant woman's stomach that is too big.
Incorrect gestational age with the calculation of the last menstrual period.

Pregnant women can wait until 12 weeks of gestation, because at that time the heart condition is fully developed.

If at the time of consultation with a doctor but there is no heartbeat at the gestational age above 12 weeks, the most likely cause is interference with the fetus.

For example, placental disorders, weak fetal conditions, inadequate nutrition, and genetic disorders.

What are the risks of an inaudible fetal heartbeat?

Based on research from the Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, a weak fetal heart rate can be a sign that a pregnancy is experiencing problems.

The study found that fetuses whose heart rates are less than 100 beats per minute at week 6 of pregnancy are at risk of dying in the womb.

Fetal death in the womb that occurs in the first trimester or even the early weeks of pregnancy, is usually caused by genetic abnormalities in the fetus and makes it unable to survive.

If the fetus has a heart rate of less than 100 beats per minute, the pregnancy needs to be supervised by a doctor and should be checked regularly.

Even so, not all cases of a weak heartbeat in the fetus will end in miscarriage.

In some cases, the fetus's weak heart rate will return to normal as it develops and grows.

Therefore, you have to take good care of your pregnancy, avoid stress and see a doctor often.