There are a lot of women interested in the causes of fetal tachycardia in labor. This means that the heart rate of the baby is elevated over a longer period of time.
The normal heart rate at the moment of birth is of 120-160 BPM. In this occasion, the tachycardia usually appears in the form of sinus tachycardia.
Fetal tachycardia causes in labor
The cause of sinus tachycardia is that the heart rate of the baby increases when he or she starts breathing. This condition can be seen as a warning sign that the little one is in distress. In some cases the problem appears because of different kinds of medications that are given to the mother.
It is also possible for the cause of labor fetal tachycardia to be an infection. If the nervous system of the baby isn’t developed enough, this could also lead to tachycardia during labor. Maternal anxiety, fever and dehydration are also among the causes of tachycardia.
Medications
Some of the medications given to the mother are supposed to stop premature labor. However these medications can increase the heart rate of the little one. If the medications have stimulating agents, these can also cause problems to the heart rate of the baby.
Hypoxia
This is another one of the labor fetal tachycardia causes. It means that the baby doesn’t get enough oxygen for different reasons, such as contractions, placental separation, maternal hypertension or prolapsed umbilical cord. An epidural can also lead to the hypoxia of the mother.
Premature babies
Preterm babies usually have different kinds of problems. They could have an undeveloped nervous system that causes problems with circulation and breathing. The nervous system can’t regulate the heart and so the babies become tachycardic.
Maternal stress
As it has been mentioned before, a cause of tachycardia experienced by the baby during labor is the stress of the mother. This is because when the mother is stressed, her body releases epinephrine that can cross the placenta and can affect the baby, making him or her tachycardic.
It is possible for the causes of fetal tachycardia in labor to include some other causes as well, but these are the most common that the mothers have to consider and that you should think about too as a mother to be.
