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Listening to your baby’s heart beat in labour

Most babies go through labour and are born without any problems. But there are a few babies who have problems. The best way of finding out when a baby is having problems is to listen to their heartbeat regularly during labour.

During contractions, blood flow slows to the placenta (also known as the afterbirth). This is normal and most babies cope without having any problems. If your baby is not coping well, this can be heard when their heartbeat pattern is listened to.

One of the best ways of finding out if your baby is having problems is to listen to their heartbeat regularly throughout your labour. This is known as fetal heart monitoring.

ChatHealth Logo

Devon County Council runs a confidential secure text messaging service for parents of children aged 0-19 years called ChatHealth. The service operates Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm, excluding bank holidays. All texts will be responded to by a public health nurse (health visitor/school nurse) within 24 hours. Outside of the service working hours, you’ll receive a message back to inform you that your text will be responded to once the line reopens. You can also call our Public Health Nursing hubs on the numbers listed below.

If you are concerned about the safety of a child in Devon, contact our Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) on 0345 155 1071 or email mashsecure@devon.gov.uk with as much information as possible.

Page last reviewed: 21-05-2024

Next review due: 21-05-2027