Journal of Clinical and Experimental Investigations

Abstract

Objectives: The determination of the fetal condition during labor is important to minimize fetal death due to asphyxia and the neurological sequelae of fetal hypoxia. This study evaluated the success of fetal cardiotocography in predicting perinatal consequences.
Materials and methods: This study enrolled 101 full-term pregnant women admitted for delivery to Vakif Gureba Training and Research Hospital between October 2009 and February 2010. Women were included if they were aged 18-45 years and within 36-41 weeks of gestation. During a 20-min period of fetal monitoring, a change in FHR (fetal heart rate) lasting for 15 s or two elevated runs of 15 beats was evaluated as a reactive NST (non-stress test). The umbilical artery pH was used as the “gold standard” for assessing fetal asphyxia.
Results: The mean age of the women included in the study was 27.82 ± 5.29 years, the average parity was1.09 ± 0.96. The pH was normal in 85 neonates, while 13 had fetal asphyxia. No significant difference in umbilical cord blood pH, pO₂, or pCO₂ was observed between these two groups (p = 0.497, p = 0.722, and p = 0.053, respectively. No significant difference in maternal age, parity, or birth weight was found between the group with fetal distress based on CTG (cardiotocography) and the normal group.
Conclusion: Cardiotocography is an important test during labor for labor management, it is insufficient for predicting the perinatal outcome. Therefore, labor should be evaluated on an individualized basis.