| Alternative Names:
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| Non-stress test; NST; CST; Contraction; Scalp monitoring |
| Normal Values:
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Normal values indicate that the fetus is not in distress by showing a fetal heart rate between 120 and 160 beats per minute, with variability of 5-25 beats per minute from the baseline (normal) fetal heart rate.
It is not uncommon for the fetal heart rate to drop slightly during a contraction, since placental blood supply is diminished under the compression of a uterine contraction, as long as the FHR recovers quickly once the contraction has stopped.
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| What abnormal results mean:
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The following situations or conditions are considered abnormal results, and may be detected by your health care provider (by monitoring the data from these tests):
- Cord compression (there is no free blood flow to the fetus)
- Fetal heart block (where there is a block of electrical flow within the heart muscle causing an altered heart rhythm)
- Fetal malposition
- Fetal hypoxia (insufficient oxygen supply to the fetus)
- Infection (monitoring cannot diagnose an infection, but can suggest the presence of an infection)
- Uteroplacental insufficiency (insufficient oxygen exchange between the uterus and the placenta)
- Fetal distress
- Abruptio placenta
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