Overview
Introduction
On a labour unit, the useful question is not simply whether the fetal heart rate line looks abnormal.
On a labour unit, the useful question is not simply whether the fetal heart rate line looks abnormal. Ask what the fetus is experiencing, whether fetal reserve is being maintained, and which reversible cause can be corrected immediately. Electronic fetal monitoring records fetal heart rate and uterine activity together. The tracing becomes meaningful only when it is read alongside gestational age, maternal vital signs and medications, labour progress, membrane status, bleeding, meconium and fetal risk factors. Canadian intrapartum guidance is SOGC Guideline No. 396; antenatal surveillance is addressed separately in Guideline No. 441. Do not apply an intrapartum tracing framework to an antenatal non-stress test or biophysical profile.