Understanding Fetal Heart Rate Patterns That May Predict Antenatal and Intrapartum Neural Injury

Electronic fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring is widely used to assess fetal wellbeing throughout pregnancy and labor. Both antenatal and intrapartum FHR monitoring are associated with a high negative predictive value and a very poor positive predictive value. This in part reflects the physiological resilience of the healthy fetus and the remarkable effectiveness of fetal adaptations to even severe challenges. In this way, the majority of ‘abnormal′ FHR patterns in fact reflect a fetus′ appropriate adaptive responses to adverse in utero conditions.
Source: Seminars in Pediatric Neurology - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: 4th issue-Fetal Neurology issue Source Type: research