What it means
External monitoring uses two belts on the belly: an ultrasound transducer picks up the fetal heart rate and a pressure sensor (tocodynamometer) picks up contractions. Internal monitoring uses a small electrode on the fetal scalp and a catheter inside the uterus to measure contraction strength; it needs ruptured membranes and an open cervix. The tracing is read for baseline rate, variability, accelerations and decelerations.
For the nurse
Place the heart transducer over the fetal back, found with Leopold maneuvers. Check that the tracing shows the fetal heart, not the mother's pulse, and review it at the intervals set by policy.
At a glance
| Normal range | Fetal heart rate baseline 110–160 beats per minute. |
|---|---|
| Also written | fetal monitors, electronic fetal monitor |
Related terms
uterine contraction
A tightening and then relaxing of the muscle of the uterus (womb), as happens during labor.
Leopold maneuvers
Four steps of feeling the pregnant abdomen with the hands to find how the fetus is lying in the uterus.
late deceleration
A gradual drop in the fetal heart rate that starts and hits its lowest point after the peak of a contraction.