Fetal Heart Rate (FHR) Basics
These abrupt, jagged drops in the fetal heart rate often look like the letter "V" or "W" and indicate that the umbilical cord is being compressed.
What is a variable deceleration?
This method involves listening to fetal heart sounds at periodic intervals using a Doppler or fetoscope.
What is Intermittent Auscultation?
When a nurse notes a Category III or non-reassuring fetal heart rate pattern, this is the very first independent nursing action that should be taken to increase maternal-fetal oxygen transfer.
What is repositioning the patient? (Acceptable: turning the patient on her side)
This popular nursing acronym helps students quickly link different heart rate patterns to their underlying clinical causes.
What is VEAL CHOP?
If a laboring patient experiences a severe drop in blood pressure after an epidural that causes fetal distress, the nurse may need to administer this specific IV medication to quickly raise the mother's blood pressure.
What is ephedrine?
This type of fetal heart rate deceleration mirrors a uterine contraction exactly, starting when the contraction begins and returning to baseline when it ends.
What is an early deceleration?
This type of monitoring is not interrupted by maternal movement or affected by maternal size.
What is internal monitoring?
To verify that the external ultrasound transducer is picking up the fetus and not the mother, the nurse should simultaneously assess this maternal vital sign.
What is the maternal pulse? (Acceptable: maternal heart rate)
If a drop in the baby's heart rate lasts longer than 2 minutes but less than 10 minutes, it is given this specific clinical name.
What is a prolonged deceleration?
Given to the mother via IV, this high-alert medication is used to stop preterm labor contractions or prevent seizures in preeclampsia, but it can cause the baby to have decreased heart rate variability.
What is magnesium sulfate?
This is the normal, reassuring baseline range for a fetal heart rate in beats per minute.
What is 110 to 160 bpm?
Intermittent Monitoring is often preferred by women because it offers these two benefits during labor.
What are comfort and freedom of movement?
If a nurse identifies a non-reassuring FHR pattern and the primary provider does not respond to calls or take appropriate action, the nurse is legally obligated to initiate this formal hospital process to ensure patient safety.
What is the chain of command?
his is the medical term for a fetal heart rate that stays consistently above 160 beats per minute for 10 minutes or longer.
What is fetal tachycardia?
This class of pain relief is injected into the lower back.
What is an epidural?
Nursing interventions like turning the mother onto her left side, starting oxygen, and increasing IV fluids are standard treatments for this type of late-occurring deceleration.
What is a late deceleration?
To place internal monitoring devices like a Fetal Scalp Electrode (FSE) or an Intrauterine Pressure Catheter (IUPC), these two clinical criteria must first be met by the patient.
What are ruptured membranes and a dilated cervix?
When setting up external monitoring for a patient in labor, the nurse uses this specific assessment method involving abdominal palpation to locate the fetal back for optimal ultrasound transducer placement.
What are Leopold's Maneuvers?
This medication, commonly used to induce labor, must be turned off immediately by the nurse if the baby begins having repeated late decelerations.
What is Oxytocin? (Acceptable: Pitocin)
This specific medication is a uterine relaxant (tocolytic) that a nurse might give via a quick subcutaneous injection to rapidly stop hyperstimulation and rescue the fetal heart rate.
What is terbutaline?
This term describes the normal "jiggle" or fluctuations in the fetal heart rate baseline, which is the best indicator of fetal oxygenation and a working central nervous system.
What is variability?
Unlike the external TOCO, this sterile, flexible tube is inserted directly into the uterus to measure the true strength of contractions in millimeters of mercury ($mmHg$) or Montevideo units.
What is an Intrauterine Pressure Catheter? (Acceptable: IUPC)
This is the first thing a nurse should do if they see an unsafe drop in the baby's heart rate.
What is change the mother's position? (Acceptable: turn the mother onto her side)
This is the definition of preterm birth: any birth occurring between these specific gestational weeks.
What is 20 0/07 to 36 6/7 weeks?
This steroid injection is given to mothers in preterm labor to help speed up the development of the baby's lungs before birth.
What is betamethasone?