Influence on clinical practice of routine intra-partum fetal monitoring.
An attempt has been made to monitor by continuous fetal heart rate according all women admitted in labour. Altogether 85% of the 1070 patients delivered at one hospital were monitored in 1973 and 92% in 1974. Perinatal mortality fell significantly from levels in preceding years to 15-8 and 11-7 per 1000 births, respectively, in 1973 and 1974. The fall was primarily due to the elimination of intra-partum stillbirths and a significant reduction in neonatal mortality. The incidence of caesarean sections also fell from 9-7% in 1973 to 5-8% in 1974. All patients should be monitored because it is impossible to predict reliably intra-partum fetal distress from maternal "high-risk" factors present before the onset of labour.
D001919:Bradycardia / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000517:prevention & control; D005316:Fetal Distress / Q000175:diagnosis; D005318:Fetal Heart; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D011247:Pregnancy; D013610:Tachycardia / Q000175:diagnosis