What is the normal heart rate during labour?

Brief Answer:

It is more by 10 to 20 beats per minute over normal.

Detailed Answer:

Hi,

As such there are a lot of physiological changes during pregnancy in the female body.

Along with metabolic changes, there are certain changes in the cardiovascular system.

There is an increase in the pulse rate, lowering of the blood pressure, mainly due to hormonal changes and mechanical effects in the third trimester of pregnancy.

Secondly, there is a lot of change in the till adopted changes in pregnancy when a woman goes into the labour process.

With the effect of pain and contractions of the uterus, there are certain changes in the pulse and blood pressure if the woman in labour.

There is a rise of 10 to 20 beats per minute in pulse rate over the baseline pulse rate before the onset of labour.

Also, other factors like anxiety about the labour process, the severity of labour pains, hydration status of the labouring woman, body temperature, the presence of infection can cause a rise in the pulse rate significantly.

Rise in pulse rate above 150 beats per minute warrants expert cardiologist support as it is harmful to mother and baby's health.

I usually suggest my patients practice deep breathing. Deep inhalation and slow exhalation. Meditate regularly and deliberately.

This helps a lot in preventing an excessive rise in the pulse rate.

Hope I have answered your query.

Take care

Regards,
Dr Purushottam Neurgaonkar, OBGYN

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