Non stress tests

I’m currently 32 weeks pregnant and will start nonstress tests this week. My ob had me schedule just one a week for the remainder of my pregnancy, but when I met with my perinatologist last week he said I should really be doing two a week. Just curious how many everyone out there had and if you found them to be useful or not.

In my last pregnancy, I had to go twice each week and will do the same in this one when I get there. It’s not a matter of their usefulness, it’s to see how well things are going with the baby-- is your placenta performing as it should, but specifically, does baby have normal accelerations in heartbeat, is it under distress, etc.

I had NSTs 1x/wk from 32-36? Wks then 2x/wk. I’m 32 wks now and see the dr Wednesday but I’m guessing it’ll be the same.

I did mine 2x/week starting at 32 weeks

Everyone’s situation is unique, and I don’t want to scare people unnecessarily, but in my case, going in for a scheduled non-stress test likely saved my son’s life! (I was scheduled for 2 a week starting at 36 weeks, I think. May have done them prior to that once a week, but can’t remember?) At 39 weeks and 2 days when I went in for the non-stress test my son was unusually active and his heart rate was unusually high (over 200 a few times, consistently 170-190). I thought being active was a good thing, so I wasn’t too worried, but the doctor sent me over to radiology for a biophysical profile too. By that time, he was unusually still with a heart rate of 120. They sent me to the Birth Place at the hospital and 15 minutes later I was being prepped for an emergency C-section (general anesthesia). Despite good control, A1Cs in the low 5s throughout my pregnancy, and no previous complications, my son was 9 lbs 12 oz and just ran out of room, I guess, which somehow compromised his airways. It took doctors 8 minutes after the delivery to get him breathing (although they were giving him oxygen, so he didn’t go without) and his initial Apgar scores were 1 and 4. After that first 10 minutes though, he did great, and his Apgar score went up to 8. So I’m definitely an advocate of the extra testing at the end just in case! It’s a pain, but it is so worth it to end up with a healthy baby! Needless to say, if I’m able to have another baby, I’m totally fine with an induction or scheduled C-section at 39 weeks!