Fetal monitor
Maternal/fetal monitors are employed for monitoring both maternal and fetal vital signs prior to, during and after delivery. These vital signs typically include fetal heart rate measured by ultrasound, maternal and fetal ECG's and pulse oximetry; maternal blood pressure and uterine activity. A variety of devices are available for separately monitoring intrauterine pressure and fetal heart rate of a pregnant mother and her fetus during pregnancy or labor. For example, to measure uterine contractions an external transducer diaphragm may be provided that is secured to the mother's abdomen by a belt or other device. During labor, contractions and/or intrauterine pressure may be sensed by the transducer diaphragm and displayed on a monitoring device. A wide variety of equipment and systems have been developed for monitoring the status of medical patients and procedures, particularly of a fetus and mother. Physicians, nurses and clinicians may thus maintain constant or periodic records, typically in real time, of the patient's condition. Monitors of this type include cardiac monitors, respiratory monitors, blood pressure monitors, chemical monitors, such as for oxygen take up, and so forth. In gynecology and obstetrics, two medical parameters are important to assess the condition of the fetus. These two parameters are the fetal beat-to-beat heart rate and uterus (or labor) activity. Simultaneous assessment of the fetal heart rate (FHR) and uterus activity (toco) allows an exact determination of the fetal condition. Monitors measuring and recording both parameters are called "fetal monitors" or "cardiotocographs" (CTG monitors). Variations in heart beat frequency patterns and/or deviations in such patterns from a norm can be correlated with occurrences of fetal distress caused either by some infirmity internal to the fetus or by external forces applied directly to various parts of the fetus anatomy or to the umbilical cord, such external forces often being attributable to maternal uterine contractions during labor. The fetal heart rate slows in response to low oxygenation (opposite to adults) and may be monitored either externally using Doppler ultrasound and other methods, or directly by hooking a small electrode into the fetal scalp.
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