Prenatal Testing: What is a Nonstress Test?

Expectant mothers always have this constant worry about their baby ’s health, especially since congenital birth defects can possibly happen to some. Good thing there are prenatal screening tests that can be done, usually within the first and second trimesters, to rule out this possibility. Once a screening test shows a positive result, diagnostic tests will then provide a conclusive answer.Some prenatal tests may be required for pregnant mothers as routine procedures, while others may be offered additional screening exams, especially those with higher risk of bearing a child with certain health conditions. One of these additional prenatal exams include a fetal nonstress test.What to know about a nonstress testAlso known as a fetal heart rate monitoring, anonstress test (NST) is a common prenatal exam to check on the baby ’s health. The procedure involves a monitoring of the baby’s heart rate in response to his movements. The test is termed “non-stress” since it is noninvasive, meaning there is literally no stress placed on the fetus over the duration of the procedure.During a nonstress test, the healthcare practitioner checks on the baby ’s heartbeat on two occasions: while the baby is at rest and while he is moving. Normally, the baby’s heart rate increases when he is kicking or moving, just as our heart beats faster when we are active.Nonstress test for high-risk pregnanciesGenerally, the goal of a nonstress test is to evaluate the baby ’s oxygen supply base...
Source: Dr.Malpani's Blog - Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: blogs