FETAL HEART RATE MONITORING

Normal fetal heart rate (FHR) findings are highly reassuring of fetal well-being.
Abnormal FHR findings are poor predictors of fetal compromise. Wide usage of
electronic FHR monitoring has not lowered the rate of cerebral palsy (CP)
because the antecedents of CP appear not to be intrapartum events, but rather
antenatal events. The false-positive rate for electronic FHR monitoring for
predicting CP is >99%.

Both of the following modalities are equivalent in predicting fetal outcome.

Intermittent    auscultation    of  FHR is  performed   with    a   fetoscope   using

auditory    FHR counting    averaged    for 10–15   s.

Electronic  monitoring  measures    the milliseconds    between consecutive

cardiac cycles  giving  an  instantaneous   FHR continuously.