TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Intrapartum Fetal Monitoring A1 - Rosenn, Barak M. A2 - Santos, Alan C. A2 - Epstein, Jonathan N. A2 - Chaudhuri, Kallol PY - 2015 T2 - Obstetric Anesthesia AB - Electronic fetal (heart rate) monitoring (EFM) was developed and introduced into clinical practice during the second half of the 20th century, with the expectation that it would provide information on the well-being of the fetus during labor. The hope was that changes in the fetal heart rate (FHR) pattern resulting from fetal hypoxia would alert the clinician to the impending danger of fetal asphyxia and acidosis and would allow timely intervention before permanent damage occurred. Unfortunately, EFM was widely and rapidly adopted throughout the world, and it has become an integral part of modern obstetrics without ever undergoing the necessary scientific scrutiny to validate its merit.1 Indeed, studies have shown that EFM provides no long-term benefit to infants when compared to intermittent auscultation in labor and actually may cause harm by increasing the rate of operative delivery.2 Nevertheless, given its widespread use and perceived merits, EFM is unlikely to be subjected to randomized clinical trials in the foreseeable future. Also, despite its limitations, it provides valuable information on the physiologic and pathophysiologic changes that some fetuses experience during labor. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/29 UR - accessanesthesiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1108522417 ER -