Group Issues Revised Guideline for Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring During Labor
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A revised guideline on monitoring fetal heart rate during labor from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) seeks to decrease perinatal morbidity and mortality by improving communication among members of the health care delivery team.
The updated guideline also highlights the uncertain efficacy of electronic fetal monitoring and limitations such as a high false-positive rate for predicting cerebral palsy and poor consistency among physicians in interpreting fetal heart rate tracings (Obstet Gynecol. 2009;114[1]:192-202).
Revisions to guidelines on electronic fetal monitoring during labor provide standardized and unambiguous definitions intended to improve communication among members of the health care delivery team and outcomes for mothers and neonates.
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SUBOPTIMAL EFFICACY
When electronic fetal monitoring was introduced in the 1960s, clinicians hoped that the procedure, which provides information predictive of the acid-base status of the fetus, would help diagnose fetal acidemia and reduce perinatal morbidity and mortality. By 1980, 45% of women in …
