Is There Logic Behind Fetal Monitoring?

Abstract

Practitioners of biomedicine pride themselves on making logical decisions based on scientific fact and research evidence. However, continuous electronic fetal monitoring, as it is applied in contemporary North American obstetric practice, does not stand up to the rules of logic or the application of empirical evidence. In the face of growing evidence against the efficacy of continuous electronic fetal monitoring for improving birth outcomes, perinatal health care providers need to critically evaluate the arguments that supported its inception and consider whether its continued application can be defended.