So, you’re about to have a baby. You’ve been to the birth classes – you learned how being upright and moving around can help you be as comfortable as possible. Perhaps you’ve even learned some acupressure or hypnotherapy to help with pain management.
You’re feeling ready for birth – but then things start to get real. The hospital is discussing induction of labour, or maybe you went into spontaneous labour – but they tell you they need to monitor the baby. Health workers attach electrodes, straps and wires.
“It’s for the wellbeing of the baby” they say – but nobody has talked about monitoring in any of the classes or visits. Does everybody have monitoring, you wonder? Are there different ways to check the baby’s heart rate? And do you have a choice? The answer is yes. Women do have choices about fetal monitoring during childbirth, but few realise it.
What is fetal monitoring? Fetal monitoring is used during labour to listen to the baby’s heart sounds and measure the contractions of the uterus. Despite debates and major concerns about the proven ability for fetal monitoring to detect issues, most women will be monitored in some way during labour as part of routine care. But, different types of fetal monitoring, can impact comfort and pain management, and can drive medical interventions .
These can include increased use of pharmacological pain management due to restricted movement. A series of interventions can affect labour progress and increase the li.