> New fetal heart monitor could give better health picture during labor, say UF researchers
In hopes of giving doctors a better assessment of fetal well-being, University of Florida physicians and a private engineering firm are developing what could be the first commercial monitoring system to noninvasively detect electrical activity in the baby’s heart, producing a fetal electrocardiogram, or EKG, said Dr. Tammy Euliano, a UF associate professor of anesthesiology, and obstetrics and gynecology.
When perfected, the system might help reduce the number of Caesarean deliveries, which have increased dramatically since the 1960s, when ultrasound was introduced, she said. It also may detect abnormal fetal heart rhythms, distinguish false labor from early labor, and track the mothers heart rate and the strength of her uterine contractions.
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> Fetal monitoring before labor
The doctor will monitor you and your baby throughout your pregnancy. Various tests can show how the baby is doing inside your uterus. These tests may be done anytime during your pregnancy, especially if you have a high-risk condition, a medical condition, or have had complications with a previous pregnancy. Sometimes a test may be repeated at intervals to show the well-being of the baby over time. Finally, tests may be done if you have reached 41to 42 weeks or are considered overdue...read more
...During a non-stress test, you will be hooked up to a fetal monitor just like the one you will have when you are in labor. You will NOT be given any medication to stimulate or cause movement of the baby or contractions of the uterus.
> Heart surgery in womb success
Jamie Maguire is doing well after surgery. A new type of life-saving heart operation has been successfully performed on a baby in the womb. The micro-surgical technique allowed the mother to carry her child to full-term, avoiding complications associated with premature births...read more
> Fetal oxygen monitors no help for newborns: study
Monitoring fetal oxygen levels during delivery does not appear to lower the rate of unnecessary caesarean sections or improve infant health, a large U.S. government study concludes.
Previous research suggested that measuring oxygen levels in the blood of a fetus helps reduce the number of caesarean deliveries. It was thought the measurements may help doctors to understand the reasons behind abnormal heart rates.
In 2000, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave conditional approval for one device, called OxiFirst, which measures fetal oxygen levels during delivery and is designed to be used along with electronic tracking of the fetal heart rate...read more
> MCV Hospitals is first medical center in state with new technology
Virginia Commonwealth University Medical College of Virginia Hospitals is the states first medical center to offer a new FDA approved fetal- monitoring technology that may cut in half the number of Caesarean deliveries done because of fetal distress. Due in part to early research by a VCU physician, fetal-pulse oximetry is designed to give doctors more accurate information about oxygen levels in a baby during labor and delivery.
During their patients labor, doctors make decisions about performing emergency Caesarean sections based on information dealing with fetal-heart rate related to fetal-oxygen levels. Fetal-pulse oximetry is the first direct method of measuring real-time fetal-oxygen levels during labor and delivery. Other monitoring methods, such as fetal heart-rate tracing and fetal stimulation, are more indirect markers of oxygenation...read more > Monitoring Fetal Health
All pregnant women are monitored as a part of prenatal care. Early prenatal care is important because it gives your health care provider a chance to check on your health and the progress of your pregnancy, and also to keep track of your fetus growth, movement, and heartbeat. All women need to attend their prenatal care appointments even when they are feeling healthy.
Based on the results of routine prenatal care, your health care provider may suggest further tests to assess the health of the fetus. Some of these further tests and monitoring may be done with electronic equipment. Fetal monitoring detects signs of some problems as early as possible in pregnancy. Although this testing can provide valuable information, normal results do not guarantee a healthy baby. All pregnancies carry some degree of risk, and monitoring does not remove that risk. But it does help your health care provider to take better care of you and your baby during your pregnancy...read more > Maternal and Fetal Testing
The vast majority of women have healthy pregnancies and their babies are born without difficulties. However, women with high-risk pregnancies often need a close watch for potential problems or complications. Fortunately, there are many tests and procedures to monitor the health of both mother and baby. Many of these pose little or no risk and can provide tremendous amounts of information to physicians and expectant parents. Some types of testing and procedures, however, do carry some risks to mother, baby, or both...read more
> Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring
Labor and delivery can be the most stressful times of a pregnancy for both mother and baby. Problems may arise at any point that need attention. Because of this, the heart rate of the baby is monitored during labor to check its well-being. Certain changes in the heart rate of the baby can signal a problem, so every woman gets some form of monitoring while she is in labor. Most babies will have changes in their heart rate some time during labor and delivery. Fetal monitoring cannot prevent a problem from occurring, but it can alert your health care provider or nurse to warning signs. No form of fetal monitoring is perfect, but techniques have improved over the years, and today more is known about what can happen to the baby during labor...read more > The Optical Fetal Monitor
The Optical Fetal Monitor (OFM) was developed in an attempt to quantify fetal blood oxygenation noninvasively, through a simple transabdominal measurement. It measures the amount of light absorbed by the fetus at two different near-infrared wavelengths. The fetal modulation signal can then be uniquely resolved from the maternal signal by its frequency content.
Since the mother and fetus have separate hearts and thus distinct heart rates, the blood passing through the fetus will be frequency tagged by the fetal heart rate. A Fourier transform can then be performed on the detected signals to discriminate the fetal signal from the maternal signal, since the mothers heart rate, and hence her contribution to the amplitude modulation, should be far slower...read more |
