The technology for electronic fetal monitoring arrived in the 1960s and 1970s but had to undergo reliability testing before hospitals and clinics started to use it. Electronic fetal monitors provided a graph (on a paper printout at first, and later, on a computer screen) that showed how a fetus’s heart rate responded to contractions. An advantage of electronic monitoring over the fetoscope method was that it could be done without requiring the provider to be at the patient’s bedside. Here’s a quick overview of how electronic fetal monitoring is used, as well as how to interpret what you see (and hear) on the monitor. When you’re looking at the screen, the fetal heart rate is usually on the top and the contractions at the bottom. When the machine prints out graph paper, you’ll see the fetal heart rate to the left and the contractions to the right. The monitoring strip in the labor room will also be visible from a bank of monitors at the nurses’ desk, which lets staff watch the monitors without having to come to a patient’s room. The red indicator on the bottom tracing shows the strength of a contraction, measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). The higher the number, the stronger the contraction. Combining both the top and bottom (x and y-axes), the graphs line up with the heart rate directly above a contraction that is happening at the same time.
Are experiencing fetal distress in your current laborAre having an epiduralAre having an induction of laborHave certain medical conditionsHave had a previous cesarean birthHave had multiple babies
Start having a conversation with your provider about fetal monitoring at your prenatal visits. Ask them how they use fetal monitoring during labor, including when they would recommend continuous or internal fetal monitoring.
