Electronic Fetal Monitoring :: Technology Pregnancy Essays.
Electronic fetal monitoring assesses the fetal heart rate along with the frequency and duration of contractions in a pregnant or laboring woman. This monitoring is important in determining if the fetal heart rate is within acceptable ranges and contractions are adequate.
Technology has had a very prominent influence on electronic fetal monitoring since its appearance in the 1960’s and 1970’s. For many years, fetal monitoring was simply done by listening to a fetal heartbeat through a stethoscope. Dramatic changes in the heartbeat, such as a long period or a drop in the rate or intensity, could be detected.
Cardiotocography (CTG) is used to monitor a baby’s heart rate during labour. A CTG machine listens to the baby’s heart rate through the mother’s abdomen and prints out a an electronic “trace” of the baby’s heartbeat.
When expectant mothers go to the clinic, their child’s health is checked every time and if complications arise they are noted and handled. One of the things we covered this week is the immediate electronic fetal heart monitoring and the quiz below is perfectly designed to help you test out how much you understood reading and interpretation.
Electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) was developed in the late 1960s in an attempt to reduce neonatal morbidity and mortality. The tenet that intrapartum events are responsible for adverse neonatal outcomes such as cerebral palsy is deeply ingrained in our culture.
The impact of electronic fetal monitoring on ob- stetric safety has become a high priority, with documenta- tion being essential to evaluating care quality.
Fetal heart monitoring includes initial and ongoing assessments of the woman and fetus, use of monitoring techniques such as intermittent FHR auscultation or EFM and interpretation of FHM data, and provision of clinical interventions as needed.
Electronic fetal monitors continuously record the instantaneous fetal heart rate on the upper channel and uterine contractions on the lower channel. They do this by attaching, either externally (and non-invasively) or internally, to detect the fetal heart and each uterine contraction.
Anderson, I. A controlled trial of fetal heart rate monitoring in a low-risk obstetric population. Am J Obstet Gynecol 141(5), 527-534. 1-11-1981. United States. 12. Thacker, S. B. and Stroup, D. F. Continuous electronic heart rate monitoring for fetal assessment during labor. The Cochrane Library (1). 2000. Oxford, Update Software. 13.
Fetal heart rate monitoring measures the heart rate and rhythm of your baby (fetus). This lets your healthcare provider see how your baby is doing. Your healthcare provider may do fetal heart monitoring during late pregnancy and labor. The average fetal heart rate is between 110 and 160 beats per minute.
ABSTRACT: We report the views of 200 women interviewed as part of a large randomized controlled trial in a Dublin hospital to compare a policy of continuous intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring (EFM) with an alternative policy of intermittent auscultation using a Pinard stethoscope (IA). More women allocated to EFM reported that they felt restricted in their movements than did those.
This basic practical handbook on fetal heart rate monitoring aims to provide an insight into normal cardiotocography and alerts doctors and midwifery staff to cardiotocographic features which merit further action and emphasizes the practical aspects of common problems.
Electronic fetal heart rate monitoring is commonly used to assess fetal well-being during labor. Although detection of fetal compromise is one benefit of fetal monitoring, there are also risks, including false-positive tests that may result in unnecessary surgical intervention. Since variable and inconsistent interpretation of fetal heart rate tracings may affect management, a systematic.
