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Results
By Mayo Clinic staffResults of a nonstress test are considered:
- Reactive. Before week 32 of pregnancy, results are considered normal (reactive) if your baby's heartbeat accelerates to a certain level twice or more for at least 10 seconds each within a 20-minute window. At week 32 of pregnancy or later, if your baby's heartbeat accelerates to a certain level twice or more for at least 15 seconds each within a 20-minute window, the results are considered reactive.
- Nonreactive. If your baby's heartbeat doesn't meet the criteria described above, the results are considered nonreactive. Keep in mind that nonreactive results might occur because your baby was asleep during the test.
If your baby's nonstress test results are nonreactive, your health care provider will likely do another prenatal test to further check your baby's health. For example:
- Biophysical profile. A biophysical profile combines a nonstress test with ultrasound tests that evaluate your baby's breathing, movements, muscle tone and amniotic fluid level.
- Contraction stress test. This test looks at how your baby's heart rate reacts when your uterus contracts.
Your health care provider might also ask you to have another nonstress test later in the day. Keep in mind that a reactive result is far more likely to be correct than is a nonreactive result. If you have a nonreactive nonstress test and a second nonstress test that's reactive, the second test's results are considered reliable.
Rarely, during a nonstress test, problems with a baby's heart rate are detected that require further monitoring or treatment.
Be sure to discuss the results of your nonstress test with your health care provider and what they might mean for you and your baby.
- Gabbe SG, et al. Obstetrics: Normal and Problem Pregnancies. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2012. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/208746819-4/0/1528/0.html. Accessed Nov. 15, 2012.
- Devoe LD. Antenatal fetal assessment: Contraction stress test, nonstress test, vibroacoustic stimulation, amniotic fluid volume, biophysical profile, and modified biophysical profile — An overview. Seminars in Perinatology. 2008;32:247.
- Young BK. Antepartum fetal heart rate assessment. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Nov. 15, 2012.
- Frequently asked questions. Pregnancy FAQ098. Special tests for monitoring fetal health. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/~/media/For%20Patients/faq098.pdf?dmc=1&ts=20121114T1246224872. Accessed Nov. 15, 2012.
- Cunningham FG, et al. Williams Obstetrics. 23rd ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2010. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=46. Accessed Nov. 15, 2012.
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Committee on Practice Bulletins — Obstetrics. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 9: Antepartum fetal surveillance. International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics. 2000;68:175. Reaffirmed 2012.
- DeCherney AH, et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment Obstetrics & Gynecology. 10th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=9. Accessed Nov. 16, 2012.
- Harms RW (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dec. 7, 2012.
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Committee on Practice Bulletins — Obstetrics. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 106: Intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring: Nomenclature, interpretation, and general management principles. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2009;114:192.
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