pH measurement from the fetus during labor--a task for the midwife?
After theoretical education on the development of fetal acidosis and the fetal blood sampling technique, 12 midwives in a training program carried out or assisted in 40 fetal blood sampling procedures. Sampling was possible at a cervical dilatation of 1.5 cm. 11/12 midwives were successful in their first sampling attempt. The instrument used for analysis was an automated microprocessor device with a minimum sampling volume of 15 microliter of blood. There was a statistically highly significant correlation between the results obtained with the instrument tested and the reference device (r = 0.9; n = 36). 82% of the measurements fell within +/- 0.04 pH units of the reference device. With the instrument placed in the labor room, and using the current technique with very small blood samples, it is possible to obtain a fetal pH value within 10 minutes after the development of a pathological fetal heart rate pattern.
D000138:Acidosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000502:physiology*; D005323:Fetal Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D009721:Nurse Midwives / Q000193:education*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000295:instrumentation*