During labour, your midwife will listen to your baby’s heartbeat to make sure they are doing ok. There are three ways to listen to their heartbeat:
Using a small handheld machine – If you’ve been healthy during your pregnancy and your labour started naturally after 37 weeks, your midwife will usually use the small machine to listen to your baby’s heartbeat. This is the same one they used when you were pregnant.
Using a CTG machine – that checks your baby’s heartbeat and your contractions all the time – this may be used if you had problems in your pregnancy or labour. You’ll wear two belts on your tummy to keep everything in place.
If your midwife or doctor is worried about your baby’s heartbeat during labour, they might do extra checks using:
