Fetal assessment DURING LABOUR Flashcards
What is a normal baseline heart rate for a fetus during labour?
110-160bpm
How often should be auscultate the fetal heart during frist and second stage?
first= every 15mins or after a contraction second= every 5 mins or after a contraction
How should you prepare a woman for electronic fetal monitoring?
ask woman to empty bladder, palpate, observations on woman, and consider reasoning for the CTG
What does the term hypoxia mean?
Low oxygen levels
What can hypoxia lead to?
acidosis- body fluids are too acidic
long term neurological outcomes for baby
What length of time is 1cm on a CTG chart?
1minute
Will the fetal heart sound faster in the first trimester, or the third trimester, and why?
first trimester because the parasympathetic nervous system matures during the second trimester, and the vagus nerve becomes more dominant over the sympathetic stimulation
What is normal variability on a CTG?
5-25
Give three reasons why variability may be less than 5?
maternal opiates, fetal sleep and hypoxia
What classes as an acceleration, and deceleration on a CTG monitor?
acceleration= transient increase of 15bpm for more than 15 seconds
deceleration=decrease of 15 bpm for more than 15 seconds
How long is a prolonged deceleration?
2-3 minutes
What are three explanations for decelerations?
early labour= head compression
late labour= hypoxia
most commonly is cord or placental compression
What kind of decelerations does this describe; irregular shapes, concerning if profound, persistent and prolonged
variable decelerations
When does a late deceleration occur?
after the peak of a contraction, and are a smooth shallow dip
Name the 5 non reassuring variables;
more than 60 seconds, reduced baseline variability, failure to return to baseline, W shape, no shouldering
What are the three categories to describe a CTG?
abnormal, reassuring and non reassuring
What category is this from?
variable decelerations with any concerning characteristic in up 50% of contractions for 30 minutes
non reassuring
Late decelerations for 30 minutes?
abnormal
variable decelerations with any concerning characteristic for over 50% of contractions for less than 30 minutes
non reassuring
