Electronic fetal monitoring technology came to market in the 1960s and 1970s, but had to undergo reliability testing before hospitals and clinics began using it. Electronic fetal monitors provided a graph (first on a paper print and later on a computer screen) showing how a fetus` heart rate reacted to contractions. Heelan L. Fetal Surveillance: Creating a culture of safety with informed choice. J Perinat Educ. 2013;22(3):156-165. doi:10.1891/1058-1243.22.3.156 No one type of fetal monitoring will be suitable for everyone. How often it is necessary to check the baby, and the contractions differ from person to person – and even from one job to another in the same person. If your work is considered high-risk, you probably need to have continuous fetal monitoring. After nine months of peaceful hovering in a warm, comfortable womb, babies can be stressed by uterine contractions and tight compression of the mother`s pelvis during childbirth. An advantage of electronic monitoring over the Fetoscope method was that it could be performed without the provider having to be at the bedside.

They are of variable duration and may have nothing to do with uterine contractions. Cardiotocography (CTG) measures your baby`s heart rate. At the same time, it also monitors contractions in the uterus (uterus). CTG is used both before birth (prenatal) and during labour to monitor the baby for signs of stress. By looking at different aspects of the baby`s heart rate, doctors and midwives can see how the baby is doing. Next, you need to record the number of contractions in a period of 10 minutes. An electrode of the fetal scalp is a small circular needle in the shape of a corkscrew attached to a coated thread. The clip is covered with a long, flexible, protective plastic cover and guided through the mother`s vagina by the caregiver, who performs an internal examination. The needle is gently transformed into SKIN on the baby`s scalp. Once the clip is attached, the plastic cover is removed so that only the wire remains. When you look at the screen, the fetal heart rate is usually at the top and the contractions at the bottom.

When the device prints graphic paper, you will see the fetal heart rate on the left and contractions on the right. Stout MJ, Cahill AG. Electronic fetal monitoring: past, present and future. Perinatology clinics. 2011;38(1):127-142. doi:10.1016/j.clp.2010.12.002 Ayres-de-Campos D. Electronic fetal monitoring or cardiotocography, 50 years later: what`s in a name? At J Obstet Gynecol. 2018;218(6):545-546. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2018.03.011 Cardiotocography is usually referred to as “CTG” by doctors and midwives. It can be used to monitor a baby`s heart rate and a mother`s contractions during pregnancy.

Simultaneous recordings are made by two separate transducers, one for measuring fetal heart rate and the other for uterine contractions. Converters can be external or internal. It is generally suggested that women determine whether contractions are regular in frequency, intensity, and duration. For example, it is not a real job if: Monitoring the fetus, in one form or another, has been around for a long time – in fact more than 350 years. Prior to the 1970s, a health care provider (usually a doctor, nurse, or midwife) used a stethoscope designed for pregnancy (fetoscope) to hear the heart murmurs (auscultation) of a fetus. When connected to an external monitor, you can move around on your bed or on a nearby chair. However, you cannot move freely unless telemetry monitoring is used. It is very unlikely that you will suddenly enter labor without warning. Your body will let you know that you are just before the big day so you can make sure your hospital bag is packed and ready to go to the hospital when the time is right. The device used in cardiotocography is called a cardiotocograph.

It involves the placement of two transducers on the abdomen of a pregnant woman. One transducer records fetal heart rate with ultrasound and the other transducer monitors contractions in the uterus by measuring the tension of the maternal abdominal wall (which provides an indirect indication of intrauterine pressure). The CTG is then evaluated by a midwife and the obstetrics medical team. Electronic fetal monitoring creates a display on a computer screen or flipchart that records the heart rate and contractions of the fetus. In the image above, you can see the fetal heart rate marked with the blue indicator. The contractions are red. Braxton Hicks contractions are the unpredictable, sporadic, and usually non-rhythmic contractions that occur during pregnancy. So how do you know the difference between Braxton Hicks and actual labor contractions? Alfirevic Z, Devane D, Gyte GM, Cuthbert A. Continuous cardiotocography (CTG) as a form of electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) for fetal assessment during labour. Cochrane Database Syst Rev.

2017;2(2):CD006066. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD006066.pub3 If you have a twin pregnancy (or a higher multiple), internal monitoring can only be applied to the baby closest to the cervix. False contractions, better known as Braxton Hicks contractions, are real and honest contractions of the uterus. They look real on a uterine contraction monitor. . They can look like a tightening of the stomach because your abdomen (or rather, the uterus) becomes hard for no reason. You`ll know when you feel it. CTG is most often performed outdoors.

This means that the equipment used to monitor the baby`s heart is placed on the mother`s abdomen (abdomen). An elastic belt is placed around the mother`s abdomen. It has two round, flat plates the size of a tennis ball that have skin contact. One of these plates measures the baby`s heart rate. The other assesses the pressure on the abdomen. In this way, it is able to show when each contraction occurs and an estimate of its strength. Cardiotocography is used to monitor various measurements: the study`s monitoring strip will also be visible from a series of monitors at the nurses` office, allowing staff to monitor the monitors without having to enter a patient`s room. .