Understanding Fetal Monitoring Readings: What Do the Numbers Mean?

Question
What is the uterine activity monitor and what do the numbers mean? At 38 weeks and below levels were in the teens. @ 39 weeks levels were up to 80. Does this signal pending lsabor? And are the levels indicative of how strong the contractions are?

Answer
Hello H Hull. The fetal monitoring that I am familiar with does have numbers on the graph, but they really mean very little. It is so dependent upon how the belts are positioned, your position on the bed, etc. The tracing is really only valuable to tell us how often you are having contractions and how the baby's heart rate is responding to the contractions. That is THE most important info. You are of course wishing for labor to begin, but wishing will not make it so. Please be patient and let mother nature and your body decide when the time is right. If you are having lots of contractions during the evening and they seem pretty regular, go and have a very warm bath. If this is going to progress into active labor, the contractions will get stronger and closer together. If these are practice contractions, the bath will settle them down and you can go to sleep. Hope that helps- Cheri.