Electronic Fetal Monitoring Paper

In current practice, electronic fetal monitoring is a technique that is used for virtually all women in labor in the United States. The goal of fetal monitoring is to assess and interpret fetal oxygenation, and the well-being of the mother and fetus in antepartal and intrapartal setting. Assessment, interpretation, and interventions of the electronic fetal monitoring are expected for nurses working in the healthcare setting (Durham, Chapman 233). Our PICO question is “During active labor, would fetal distress, decreased heart rate and hypoxia be decreased with internal fetal monitoring or external fetal heart monitoring?” Studies show that internal fetal heart monitoring is more effective than external monitoring when detecting fetal hypoxia

The patient should be in a lying position on a labor bed, with their feet and legs supported. The physician or nurse will perform a vaginal exam to check dilation of the cervix. The patient should be warned that it may be uncomfortable. If the amniotic sac is intact the physician may break open the membranes. Once the membranes are broken, the physician will feel the fetus at the cervical opening, which is usually the fetus head. A long, plastic electrode guide is placed into the vagina and a small spiral wire at the end of the electrode will be placed against the fetal part and gently rotated into the fetal skin. Once the electrode is in the skin, the guide will be removed, and the wires will be connected to the monitor and secured with a band around the thigh. The intrauterine pressure catheter is then inserted into the vagina with a vaginal exam and the catheter is advanced into the uterus through the cervix. Internal monitoring provides the most accurate information, but is also the most invasive form of fetal heart monitoring and puts the mother and fetus at a higher risk for