Study finds that electronic fetal heart rate monitoring greatly reduces infant mortality

	Tweet

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting ™, in San Francisco, researchers will present findings that prove that the use of fetal heart rate monitors lowers the rate of infant mortality.

There have been a handful of small studies conducted in the past that looked at the effectiveness of fetal heart rate monitors, but none of them were large enough to be conclusive.

“There was some criticism within the obstetric community that fetal heart rate monitoring was quickly accepted technology without proof that it was effective,” said Suneet P. Chauhan, M.D., one of the study’s authors. “We thought we could use data from the National Birth Cohort to get a large enough sample to gauge its effectiveness.”

Chauhan and his colleagues (Han-Yang Chen, Cande Ananth, Anthony Vintzileos and Alfred Abuhamad) used a sample of 1,945,789 singleton infant birth and death records from the 2004 National Birth Cohort. Multivariable log-binomial regression models were fitted to estimate risk ratio to evaluate the association between electronic fetal heart rate monitoring (EFM) and mortality, while adjusting for age, race, marital status, education, smoking, and the infant’s gender.

The results showed that in 2004, 89% of singleton pregnancies had EFM. EFM was associated with significantly lower infant mortality (adjusted RR 0.75; 95% CI 0.69, 0.81); this was mainly driven by the lower risk of early neonatal mortality (adjusted RR 0.50; 95% CI 0.44, 0.57) associated with EFM. In low-risk pregnancies, EFM was associated with decreased risk for low (< 4) 5 min Apgar scores (RR 0.54; 95% CI 0.49, 0.51), whereas in high risk pregnancies EFM was also associated with decreased risk of neonatal seizures (adjusted RR 0.65; 95% CI 0.46, 0.94).

The study demonstrates that the use of EFM decreased early neonatal mortality by 53%.

###

For interviews or a copy of the abstract please contact Vicki Bendure at , or 202-374-9259.

The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (est. 1977) is a non-profit membership group for obstetricians/gynecologists who have additional formal education and training in maternal-fetal medicine. The society is devoted to reducing high-risk pregnancy complications by providing continuing education to its 2,000 members on the latest pregnancy assessment and treatment methods. It also serves as an advocate for improving public policy, and expanding research funding and opportunities for maternal-fetal medicine. The group hosts an annual scientific meeting in which new ideas and research in the area of maternal-fetal medicine are unveiled and discussed.

###

Contact: Vicki Bendure

202-374-9259
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine

RELATED STORIES:
Comparing Birth Control Pill Types   Viewers’ family background affects how they react to MTV shows ‘16 and Pregnant,’ ‘Teen Mom’   Weight management in pregnancy with diet is beneficial and safe and can reduce complications   Many Women Still Smoke During Pregnancy   Triplets fare well as teenagers: study   Solo Ultrasound for DVT Enough in Pregnancy   Timing Pregnancy an Important Health Concern for Women   New Pregnancy Risk for Babies and Moms: Overweight Moms With Moderately High Blood Sugar Raise Health Risk   Ecstasy may affect mom-to-be’s baby   Insulin Analog Safe in Pregnancy   Women in labor longer than 50 years ago   Controversial Arizona late-term abortion bill advances

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]