A view of the fetal heart rate and contraction monitor.
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The top graph is heart rate. You can see the heart rate drops as a strong contraction happens and quickly recovers. This is due to pressure exerted on the fetus during strong contractions. They look to see the heart rate recovers coincidental with the waning of the contraction. If there is an offset or continuous low heart rate that can be a sign of distress and would require intervention.
Jin was on oxytocin to increase contractions, which have a tendency to become less severe with the administration of an epidural block. The level of oxytocin was raised close to 30ml/hr to fully dilate the cervix.
The method to measure this was a pressure sensor inserted between the fetus and the uterus. The sum of peaks in a 10 minute window were aimed towards 250 on the graph. You can see the marks on the graph indicating the peak pressures of contractions.
Jin had strong contractions about 4-5 minutes apart as soon as she started labour. |
