Know cardiotocography, the recommended prenatal care

There are several pregnancy checks that must be done by the mother, one of which is a cardiotocography (CTG) test or cardiotocography. Cardiotocography (CTG) is a test performed to check the health of the fetus.

However, do all pregnant women need a CTG test? What should be considered if you want to do a cardiotocography pregnancy examination? The following reviews will answer that question for you.

What is cardiotocography (CTG)?

Cardiotocogprahy (CTG) is a test to see the baby's heartbeat whether it is healthy or not.

This CTG examination is also commonly known as a nonstress test (nonstress test / NST).

CTG is also called a nonstress test because the baby is not under stress in the womb and there is no stressful treatment.

Usually, this pregnancy check can also measure whether the movements the baby is making in the womb are normal or not.

A healthy baby will respond to movement by increasing its heart rate during movement. The heart rate will decrease when the baby is sleeping or resting.

Normally, a baby's heart rate is between 110 and 160 beats per minute and will increase when the baby is moving. However, when the baby is asleep there is usually no increase in heart rate.

Another goal of a cardiotography (CTG) test is to find out whether the baby in the womb is getting enough oxygen from the placenta or not.

When oxygen levels are low, the fetus may not respond and show movement normally so it needs further treatment.

Do all pregnant women need to do cardiotocography?

Not all pregnant women need this test. Reported on the Mayo Clinic page, some maternal conditions that are recommended to do cardiotocography or cardiotocography (CTG) are:

• The movement of the baby in the womb becomes slowed or irregular.
• The mother feels there is a problem with the placenta restricting her blood flow to the baby.
• The mother has too little amniotic fluid (oligohydramnios) or too much (polyhydramnios).
• The mother is pregnant with twins and is experiencing pregnancy complications.
• Pregnant women have gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, and other medical conditions that affect pregnancy.
• The mother has had complications in a previous pregnancy.
• Rhesus sensitivity, which is when the mother's rhesus group is negative and the baby's blood group is rhesus positive so that there is an attack on the antigen in the body that shouldn't happen.
• Delivery time that has been delayed up to 2 weeks.
• The baby appears small or is not developing normally.
• The mother has passed the due date (HPL) so the doctor wants to know how much longer the baby is likely to remain in the womb.

Doctors usually recommend that you do CTG once or twice a week, some even every day.

The doctor's decision in determining this depends on the health condition of you and your baby.

For example, if the doctor suspects that the baby is at risk of not getting enough oxygen, a cardiotocography test can be done every day to monitor it before taking any further action.

When can pregnant women do a CTG examination?

Cardiotocography or cardiotocography (CTG) is a test that is usually recommended when pregnancy enters the third trimester.

According to the American Pregnancy Association, CTG can be done after 28 weeks of gestation to be exact.

This is because if the gestational age has not entered the third trimester, the fetus has not developed sufficiently to respond to cardiotocography examinations.

How is the CTG examination done?

Cardiotocography (CTG) is a pregnancy exam that involves two devices that are placed on your abdomen.

The first tool is used to measure the baby's heart rate and the second tool is responsible for monitoring uterine contractions.

Cardiotocography (CTG) examination is performed twice, namely when the baby is resting and when he is moving.

Just as your heart moves faster when it is actively moving, so does the baby's heart rate.

Pregnant women should remain seated or lying down during this examination.

You don't need to worry because a CTG or cardiotocography examination doesn't take long, which is only about 20-60 minutes.

The doctor will find out if the baby's heart beats faster when it moves in the uterus.

If within 20 minutes the baby is not moving actively or is sleeping, the CTG will be extended again in the hope that the baby will return to activity to get accurate results.

The doctor will try to stimulate the baby manually or by placing a device on your stomach to make a sound so that it lures the baby to wake up and move.

What are the results of a cardiotocography examination?

The results that will emerge from this antenatal care are reactive or non-reactive.

The reactive results show that your baby's heart rate increases the expected amount during the movement in the belly.

Meanwhile, if the results are not reactive, it means that the baby's heart rate is not increasing. This not increasing could be because the baby is not moving, or there is a problem.

If a repeat test has been done along with stimulation for the baby to move but the increase in heart rate also does not occur (the test results are still not reactive), this indicates that there is a problem that needs to be followed up.

The condition of not increasing the baby's heart rate is a sign that the fetus is experiencing lack of oxygen.

As a result, doctors need to carry out further tests to find out whether the baby is really lacking oxygen in the womb.

In some cases, if the condition remains unreactive and you have entered 39 weeks of gestation, your doctor may immediately recommend early delivery.

However, if the gestational age has not reached 39 weeks, the doctor and team will carry out further checks by looking at the biophysical profile and examination of contractions to check what is happening in pregnancy.

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