The 'flat' fetal heart rate (FHR) trace both before and during labour is viewed ominously by many obstetricians and midwives. The current medicolegal climate relating especially to care in labour is such that much emphasis is placed on an unreactive FHR. There is a tendency to link an unreactive FHR with an adverse outcome. However, it is only in a minority of cases that this is true. Furthermo...

In a discordant anencephalic twin the hypothesis was tested that the fetal brain is necessary for the expression of a diurnal rhythm in fetal heart rate. Fetal heart rate recordings were made over a 24 h period in a discordant anencephalic twin pregnancy and in three normal twin pregnancies. Cosinor analysis was used to assess rhythmicity in fetal heart rate and maternal heart rate or activity....

Widespread use of fetal heart rate monitoring for intrapartum fetal surveillance preceded our detailed understanding of the behaviour and regulation of the fetal cardiovascular system during labour. The fetal heart rate is sensitive to fetal hypoxaemia and hypoxia, but lacks specificity for fetal acidosis, the end point of unmitigated hypoxaemia and hypoxia. Original interpretations of fetal he...

Fetal heart rate and fetal movements provide information on the fetal condition. In the near term human fetus, four behavioural states have been described based upon heart rate patterns and presence or absence of eye and body movements. For our studies concerning fetal physiology as well as the influence of maternal antiepileptic medication and the effects of intrauterine growth retardation on ...

Electronic fetal heart rate monitoring is commonly used to assess fetal well-being during labor. Although detection of fetal compromise is one benefit of fetal monitoring, there are also risks, including false-positive tests that may result in unnecessary surgical intervention. Since variable and inconsistent interpretation of fetal heart rate tracings may affect management, a systematic approa...