Weekly tests

At my last visit with my OB/GYN, she decided that due to my age, which qualifies me for a high-risk pregnancy, it would be best to have weekly tests going forward. So now weekly I go in for a Biophysical Profile (BPP) ultrasound, and a Non-Stress Test (NST), and then see the doctor every other week. Last week I had my first set of tests and scored 8 out of 8 on the BPP (according to my u/s tech - which is a little different scoring than the reference below) and had great results from the NST. Plus, got to see new u/s pics of my little guy. He has chubby little cheeks already! The quality of the pics isn't great, but it is good enough and one perk of having these tests each week is that I get just a little time to solely focus on him and how he's doing, and I get to 'see' him too. And the other perk is that if something goes awry, I'm confident we'll catch it early enough and hopefully will avoid any 'urgent' situation. 

From WebMD.com: 

A biophysical profile (BPP) test measures the health of your baby (fetus) duringpregnancy. A BPP test may include a nonstress test with electronic fetal heart monitoring and a fetal ultrasound. The BPP measures your baby's heart rate, muscle tone, movement, breathing, and the amount of amniotic fluid around your baby.

A BPP is commonly done in the last trimester of pregnancy. If there is a chance that your baby may have problems during your pregnancy (high-risk pregnancy), a BPP may be done by 32 to 34 weeks or earlier. Some women with high-risk pregnancies may have a BPP test every week or twice a week in the third trimester.

Why It Is Done

A biophysical profile (BPP) test is done to:

• Learn about and keep track of your baby's health. Special ultrasound methods are used to keep track of movement, increases in heart rate with movement (nonstress test), muscle tone, breathing rate, and the amount of amniotic fluid (amniotic fluid index) surrounding your baby. If these five areas are within a normal range, your baby is considered to be in good health.

Results

A biophysical profile (BPP) test measures the health of your baby (fetus) during pregnancy. The results are scores on five measurements in a 30-minute observation period.

A score of 8 to 10 points means that your baby is healthy. A score of 6 to 8 points means that you may need to be retested in 12 to 24 hours. A score of 4 or less may mean the baby is having problems. Further testing will be recommended.