This site is intended for healthcare professionals

CPD
CPD
Pro
Pro
account_circleSign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Go to /pro/cpd-dashboard page

This page is worth 0.05 CPD credits. CPD dashboard

Go to /account/subscription-details page

This page is worth 0.05 CPD credits. Upgrade to Pro

Monitoring

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Maternal monitoring:

  • continual support and reassurance from midwife and partner
  • blood pressure and temperature 4 hourly or more frequently if indicated

Foetal monitoring:

  • monitor foetal heart rate by intermittent auscultation or CTG
  • check liquor for presence of meconium
  • check scalp capillary pH if indicated

During labour, fetal pH falls by 0.016 units per hour. In the pushing phase, the pH falls by 0.12 units per hour. Thus in a ten hour labour, followed by an hour of pushing, a baby whose pH started at 7.36 will become 7.08, ie fairly acidotic.

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.