Cardiotocograph monitoring
I once wrote a post about Dr Who and alternative universes, highlighting the way that people make meaning of their individual experiences. It is important for health professionals to reflect on the way we make meaning because it is easy to slip into what are known as cognitive biases. We can’t always avoid these, but it does help to have examples of these biases to increase the chance that we […]
“Being K2ed”: an unintended consequence of central fetal monitoring.
Fetal lactate testing in labour:. Are we making the same mistakes but hoping to get a different result?
Questions remain about the safety of central fetal monitoring systems.
When you put people back into clinical guidelines you can see previously invisible assumptions.
More evidence supports the safety and effectiveness of intrapartum monitoring with intermittent auscultation.
My doctoral thesis is now out from embargo and freely available. Reading a doctoral thesis is hardly everyone’s idea of a great way to spend an evening (or several), but if you do decide to read it let me know what you think!
Low oxygen levels in labour are considered to place the fetus at risk for permanent injury. One of the organs in the body that rely on high levels of oxygen supply is the heart. Physiological reflexes that manifest as CTG changes are, in part, protective for the fetal heart as they redirect blood from other parts of the body to the heart and brain. Historically, low oxygen levels in labour […]
One of the core assumptions that must be true in order for CTG monitoring to reduce perinatal harm from low oxygen levels, is that there must be recognisable CTG patterns that clinicians can consistently identify, and that are strongly associated with low oxygen levels in the fetus. Measuring oxygenation directly is tricky so alternative measures are generally used instead. Typically, acidosis is measured as low oxygen levels switch metabolic processes […]
Is there evidence that #CTG monitoring for women with #GestationalDiabetes improves outcomes? #GDM
Birth Small Talk 