Chart fetal heart rate is the first commandment of any physician giving prenatal care. Heart rate is an important indicator of fetal health, and physicians continue to monitor and chart it throughout a pregnancy, usually beginning around week 12. A healthy fetal heart rate, which often falls between 110 and 160 beats per minute, indicates that the heart is receiving an adequate supply of blood and oxygen, ensuring that the fetus continues to grow and develop properly. While an abnormality in fetal heart rate might not necessarily represent a health risk to the fetus, it can also serve as an early warning sign, allowing a physician to catch any problems much earlier in the pregnancy.

How Doctors Chart Fetal Heart Rate
One of the most important tools allowing a physician to chart fetal heart rate is the doppler ultrasound. Doppler ultrasounds have been an important part of prenatal care since the 50s. Ultrasounds use low-level sound waves to detect fetal heartbeat. Unlike the ionizing radiation used by X-rays, sound waves are harmless to both mother and child; in all the years they have been in use, there has been no evidence of a mother or fetus being harmed by ultrasound treatments.

Doppler ultrasounds have sensitive probes which can detect the location of the fetus inside the womb. Once the position of the fetus is pinpointed, the doppler sends soundwaves through the mothers abdomen through a conductive gel. When they reach the fetus, the motion of the beating heart bounces the sound waves back to the doppler monitor, which interprets the disturbance in their path and translates it into an audible heartbeat. Doctors count the number of heartbeats audible in a full minute to determine and chart fetal heart rate.

While allowing physicians to determine and maintain the health of a fetus, doppler ultrasounds have now become a tool used by parents to help acheive a happier pregnancy. Many parents hear their unborn childs heartbeat for the first time at their doctors office. For many this moment is indeed blissful, providing them with reassurance of their babys health and the sense that they are communicating with their child. Because so many parents have expressed the desire to be able to hear their babys heartbeat more frequently than scheduled doctors visits will allow, doppler ultrasounds are now available that have been specifically designed for use by parents. These new dopplers allow parents to listen to their babys heartbeat at any time.