stress test two times a week for insulin dependent gestational diabetes??
Thursday, September 9th, 2010 at
3:07 pm
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I am an insulin-dependent diabetic and you are right, they did the exact same thing. Every two days a non-stress test after 34 weeks. (I think they called it a non-stress test.)
They didn’t monitor me 2x a DAY but they had me track fetal movements every 2 hours, something like that. If I didn’t feel movement in 2 hours I was to go to the ER.
There are good reasons for needing to test you this much. I did give birth to a healthy baby girl, just to reassure you. But they prescribed the exact same treatment for me.
My daughter is pregnant and has to go in twice a week for non-stress tests to make sure the baby is okay, because her iron is low and the baby is registering too small. Also, she’s been in labor twice, and they’ve had to stop it.
I answered because I guess there are a number of reasons your doctor might have ordered this test. Diabetes can be a terrible threat to you and the baby. I figure it’s better to make sure the baby is okay by checking his pulse and movements twice a week, time consuming and expensive though it is, than to be sorry later if something goes wrong that we could have detected and stopped with the tests, you know? Good luck to you both!
My cousin who had a baby a year before I had mine, had to go for that because of the same reason as you. They are not doing it for money, what they do is do an ultrasound and there is a score tehy do based on movement, practice breathing, response, heart rate, and I cannot remember what the fifth thing is. The baby has to score 8 out of 10 or better. I had to do that after 32 weeks but for something different. If the baby scores any less then 8/10 then that may indicate a problem such as fetal distress. They will also hook you up to a fetal monitor and watch you for contractions and babies heart rate. It really is necessary, this way they will see if they need to monitor you even more closely or do an emergency delivery. Who knows, your baby may score perfect every time (mine did), either way it’s pretty cool to see your baby twice a week.
Yes you do. Babies to mothers with gestational diabetes have a significantly higher risk of fetal distress and even full term still birth the last trimester of pregnancy. The monitoring can find out if everything is okay and keep a base line to determine how your baby is tolerating the pregnancy and even labor later on. Don’t think that just cause your baby is moving that he is okay either. The non stress test actually measures the baby’s heart rate. They are looking for 2 or more significant accelerations in the baby’s heartrate in about 20 minutes. This is completely normal, and babies that are happy have this normally. I have been in a few sessions, where my little guy is jumping all over the place and did not pass this little test. When you don’t pass, they usually stimulate the baby with an audio stimulator ( a horrible buzzing sound that wakes the baby right up!). Get the monitoring. It really is the best thing for you and your baby.