Could there be a worse name for them?
A non-stress test* is basically when you lay on the exam table with two monitors on you: one to check for contractions and one to measure baby's heartbeat. You have to lay there until you can get three accelerations and decelerations within 10 minutes.
So, tell me again, how this is non-stressful. You lay there and can see the heartbeat monitor and know it has to jump and then it has to go down. And your in-utero child picks that as the perfect time to take a looong snooze despite the fact that he punches and kicks you all day long. So you stare at the monitor. You prod the baby. You drink a juice box. You prod some more. You finally get an acceleration, then it won't go down. Then the monitor loses the baby for a while and you have to move it around.
25 minutes later you're stressed out and late getting back to work.
*Least favorite part of being diagnosed with gestational diabetes
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