Electronic fetal monitoring

Electronic fetal monitoring keeps track of the heart rate of your baby (fetus). It also shows how long and how strong your contractions are. It is done during pregnancy, labor, and birth.

This type of monitoring helps your doctor see if your baby is healthy or is having any problems. It may help your doctor find the best way and time to deliver your baby.

The monitoring can be external or internal. External monitoring can be done after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Internal monitoring is done only during labor.

External monitoring

This type of monitoring is done to:

• Keep track of your baby's heart rate.
• Measure how often you have contractions and how long they last.
• Find out if you are having preterm labor.
• Check on your baby's health if your doctor thinks there may be problems. External electronic fetal monitoring will be done during a nonstress test to check your baby's heart rate while at rest and while moving. If your baby does not move during this test, more tests will be needed.
• Check your baby's health if your doctor thinks the baby is not getting enough oxygen because of problems with the placenta. If a stress test shows that your baby is not getting enough oxygen, your doctor may suggest starting (inducing) labor early. Or your doctor may talk to you about a cesarean section (C-section).
• Check your baby's health if your baby has not been growing normally. (This is called delayed fetal growth.) Monitoring may also be done if you have diabetes or high blood pressure or if you are over 41 weeks pregnant.

Internal monitoring

This type of monitoring is done to:

• Find out if the stress of labor is putting your baby's health at risk.
• Measure the strength and length of your labor contractions.

In most cases, you'll lie on a table on your back or left side.

• In external monitoring, two belts are placed around your belly. One belt holds a sensor that keeps track of your baby's heart rate. The other belt also holds a sensor. It measures the timing of your contractions.
• In internal monitoring, your doctor guides a thin wire (electrode) through your cervix and attaches it to your baby's scalp. This measures your baby's heart rate. A small tube may also be guided through your cervix and into your uterus. This measures the timing and strength of your contractions.

The sensors or the wire and tube connect to a recording device. This device can show or print out a record of your baby's heart rate and how long and how strong your contractions are.

The doctor will watch your baby's heart rate and how it responds to your contractions.

In general, there's nothing you have to do before this test, unless your doctor tells you to.

The results are usually ready right away. Here are some examples of normal and abnormal results.

Fetal monitoring can't find every type of problem, such as birth defects. A normal result does not guarantee that your baby is healthy.