Abstract
Although stethoscopic evaluation of the fetal heart rate (FHR) has been used for over 70 years for the early detection of fetal distress, it has limited value for this purpose. With the development of electronic techniques, specific FHR patterns indicating umbilical cord compression and uteroplacental insufficiency have been observed. Past and recent fetal animal studies support the concept that ominous FHR patterns indicating fetal asphyxia exist. This is particularly true of fetal rhesus monkey studies where in utero partial asphyxia was associated with the FHR pattern of late deceleration and subsequent fetal monkey brain damage at autopsy. In view of current developments, the present direction of research and clinical use of fetal monitoring seems not unreasonable.
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