Central fetal monitoring systems, adopted globally, consolidate data on fetal heart rates and uterine contractions for real-time display. A Swedish study compared outcomes during traditional and central monitoring. No significant differences in metabolic acidosis or neonatal outcomes were found. Instrumental birth rates fell, likely due to revised guidelines, questioning the investment in central monitoring without definitive improvements.
The paper by Westergren et al. (2025) examined how gender norms played out in birth, emphasising the negative impact of “well behaved” women and midwives on birthing experiences.
In some settings, women are offered the option of having intermittent CTG use rather than continuous CTG use. This might look something like having 20 to 30 minutes of CTG use every hour or two, with intermittent auscultation used during the time off the CTG. A first look, this seems like it might be a way to reduce some of the downsides associated with CTG use (like the increased rate […]
Short term thinking is a problem in maternity care. It seems to me as though a good five minute Apgar score, or normal cord blood gases, is the primary end point in far too many studies. These things are not inappropriate outcomes to aim for, but they aren’t enough and can end up meaning professionals in clinical practice lose sight of the big picture. As a parent and birthing woman, […]
Birth Small Talk 