Experience of fetal scalp blood sampling during labor

Abstract

Fetal scalp blood sampling (FBS) is often claimed to be painful for women in labor and difficult for obstetricians to perform. Our aim was to assess women's experience of pain during FBS and obstetricians' experience of difficulty in performing the test. At a tertiary center in Sweden, a questionnaire with answers on a 10-point scale was completed by 51 women and the obstetricians performing the test. Women's experience of pain had a median of 3.5. FBS was well tolerated in women who had epidural analgesia but might be associated with pain in women without. Higher maternal body mass index and less cervical dilation were associated with higher pain ratings. Obstetricians did not generally experience scalp sampling as difficult to perform (median score 3.0). However, the sampling procedure can be more complicated in situations with higher maternal body mass index, less cervical dilation, and a higher station of the fetal head.