CTG or not CTG, that is the question...

This month's Practising Midwife (June 2010) delivers food for thought on the use of CTG (cardiotocography). An easier understanding of this long word is fetal monitoring.

A summary of findings from the Cochrane systematic review on CTG (11 randomised trials including over 33,000 women both high and low risk) says...

Women with continuous CTG (fetal monitoring) are more likely to have...

a caesarean section or instrumental vaginal birth*

(* instrumental meaning forceps; ventouse and/or episiotomy)

I'm not surprised by this article. For many years I have understood the relationship of lack of mobility of women during labour due to constant monitoring and a surgical / instrumental outcome. It has informed my teaching and continues to do so.

To avoid the likelihood of an intervention, women need to be encouraged to be more mobile and adopt postures that enable her body to do the fantastic job it has been designed to do.

Media and programme makers need to adopt this too by visually showing women labouring off the bed and making use of gravity.

Come on ladies...stand and deliver!