Our health status is always on top of our primary concerns. Each of us may be experiencing sudden changes in our physical condition, especially pregnant women. For most of them, this is the most rewarding yet nerve-racking experience. A woman that is pregnant may go through a lot of changes in her well being. The fetus inside her womb takes nine months to develop completely and now ready for delivery. According to Marjorie Greenfield, M.D., the embryonic heart starts beating 22 days after conception. After the 9th or 10th week of the mother’s menstrual period she might be able to hear her babys heartbeat during her pre natal check up by the use of fetal monitors. The health care providers use a fetal monitor for this reason, which bounces harmless sound waves off the fetal heart. Nowadays, various companies sell fetal monitors for home use. This will help lessen the frequent trip of the mother to her pre natal appointments. Researches say that later part of pregnancy can be the most stressful and crucial time for both the mother and the baby. Here, certain problems may arise at any point and must need special attention.
So, it is suggested that during later part of pregnancy and labor the heartbeat of the baby needs close monitoring to check its well being. Certain changes in the heart rate of the baby might signal a problem so every pregnant woman must get specific type of fetal monitoring during labor to check how well the baby is responding and what kind of delivery must be applied, in worst case scenario the health care provider might advise the mother for caesarian delivery.
For this reason, electronic fetal monitor is being applied. The main purpose of this is to measure the babys responses to labor and delivery. An electronic fetal monitor is an equipment use to record the heart rate continuously. At the same time, the contractions of the uterus are measured. This procedure can be applied by feeling the abdomen and by using electronic equipment. The electronic fetal monitor may be applied at different time intervals depending on the stage or labor and if the mother and the baby are at high risk. This can be done as often as every 5 minutes or every 30 minutes or sometimes may be done continuously.
Furthermore, an electronic fetal monitor is use to examine the condition of the baby in the uterus to note any abnormal change of heart rate. The application of electronic fetal monitor is being performed during the later part of the pregnancy or during the labor period to make sure that the baby is healthy during its delivery. The electronic fetal monitor was brought in to help the medical doctors to diagnose certain abnormality patterns of the fetal heart rate such as fetal hypoxia, or lack of oxygen to make sure that the baby is healthy and normal.
There electronic fetal monitor can be used on two types of electronic fetal monitoring. These are the external electronic fetal monitoring and the internal electronic fetal monitoring. It can be utilized externally or internally from the mothers womb. The external electronic fetal monitor is simple and painless device while the internal electronic fetal monitor is an electronic wire that rests directly on the babys head. This electronic fetal monitor provides more accurate record of the babys heart rate.
The external electronic fetal monitoring is safe and has no direct harmful effect to the baby. But being connected to the machine, the mother can hardly walk around. The application internal electronic monitor was said to have a tendency to bring in high risk of infection to the benefactor. . A task force formed in the United States disclosed that some evidences used in electronic fetal monitor on low-risk women in labor might not be indicated. But many physicians continue to use the application of electronic fetal monitor and believed it to be both of value of low-risk and high-risk labors. The use of an electronic fetal monitor machine has not proven to show the accuracy of the actual development and activity of the fetus. However, statistics show that the application of electronic fetal monitor leads to more surgical births and more intercessions that break the natural flow of labor and delivery.
The electronic fetal monitor was first introduced at Yale University in 1958 and has been widely used for detection of fetal compromise and assessment on fetal welfare. A portable electronic fetal monitor developed by NASA, it allows expectant mothers to perform fetal testing at home. About 10 percent of pregnancies were into high risk category today as moms go to the clinic once or twice a week to do the testing done by an ultrasound. This electronic fetal monitor is suited for inexperience mothers. The inventor-physician Dr, Orvan Hess, was the first doctor who invented the cardiotocograph or commonly known as electronic fetal monitor. This type of electronic fetal monitor also measures the fetal heart rate and the frequency of uterine contractions by the use of two disc shape transducer. The first one measures the fetal heartbeat and the second one measure the strength and frequency of uterine contractions. The application of cardiocotograph or electronic fetal monitor almost became universal in the United States. Upon introduction of this electronic fetal monitor, many had think that the application of this device would reduce the incidents of fetal demise in labor and would aid in the reduction of cerebral palsy. However, in recent years a controversy came up questioning the efficiency of this electronic fetal monitor. For past few years, almost every hospital is required to have an electronic fetal monitor but the recommendation only last for a short period of time. However, when electronic fetal monitor is available, it is suggested to use it during high risk situations only. The only significant reason why electronic fetal monitor is being used extensively by hospital staff is the short supply and the opportunity that allows lesser employment of caregivers. The application of electronic fetal monitor is just one of the many ways used to check the progress during labor and the health status of the baby. It is a common knowledge that various factors are involved in choosing what type of fetal monitoring will suit you best. Discussing this matter with your health care provider would be a great help for you.
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