Myth busting #1: There is no alternative to the CTG
There really is an alternative to CTG use…
Perinatal brain injury
Does CTG monitoring work for women with risk factors?
Today’s post shares the back story behind our paper. #CTG #EFM #PerinatalMortality #CP
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Dawes Redman system
A student in my Fetal Monitoring for Maternity Professionals course asked me about this recently – and I realised I had never written about it, despite having promised to do so a few times! This is for Natalie, with gratitude. What is the Dawes Redman system? As an Australia maternity care provider, I have never encountered the Dawes Redman system in clinical practice. Its use seems to be widespread in […]
When is CTG use in labour a good idea?
Fetal monitoring guidelines around the world recommend CTG use in labour when women are considered to be a higher risk for a bad outcome for the baby that is linked to low oxygen levels in labour. Regular readers of my blog will have seen me write repeatedly about the lack of great evidence to back this up. There’s no compelling research showing better outcomes with CTG use for women planning […]
Does counting each baby save babies lives?
Why did the Each Baby Counts program not made a difference?
Fetal monitoring and cord clamping: What’s the link?
Professor Susan Bewley is a professor of obstetrics with an interest in a great many things. I first became aware of her work many years ago, when I saw her writing about the potential links between the timing of cord clamping, cord blood pH testing, fetal monitoring methods, and perinatal outcomes. Susan recently challenged me to summarise the issues in a blog post – so here we go! Setting the […]
Add central fetal monitoring and stir: Is this the solution to understaffing?
What happens when you introduce a central fetal monitoring system into a maternity service who are struggling to provide adequate staffing to maintain safety?
Maternal heart rate recording to improve outcomes
Many things related to fetal monitoring in labour have been introduced because they seemed like a good idea, but never properly evaluated to determine whether they work (like “Fresh Eyes” checks, and central fetal monitoring). There is increasing recognition that one of the reasons for poor outcomes when CTG monitoring is used is not realising the heart rate being recorded is that of the woman and not her fetus. Many […]
Hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy prevention: is it working?
Hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (or HIE) is a condition affecting newborn infants. As the name suggests, it relates to low oxygen supply (hypoxia), and / or reduced blood flow (ischaemia) causing damage (-pathy) to the brain (encephalo-). Other parts of the body might also show signs of damage from low oxygen, like the kidneys or the gut. It is diagnosed when there is a combination of high acid levels in umbilical […]
How to guess fetal blood pressure
Can you accurately guess fetal blood pressure from the heart rate pattern? #AI #CTG #EFM #FetalMonitoring #Physiology #Sheep
Birth Small Talk 