Electronic fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring has evolved into the primary method of intrapartum fetal assessment, not just for high-risk pregnancies, but also for the general population. Electronic FHR has been shown to have excellent sensitivity in predicting fetal compromise, but poor specificity.
With an innovative fetal oxygen saturation system intended as an adjunct to fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring, we studied the adequacy of oxygenation in the presence of nonreassuring FHR. The purpose of this study was to establish clinical reliability and performance of the system during intrapartum fetal monitoring.