To monitor or not monitor: that is the question. More specifically, how to best monitor your baby in labor without causing undue worry and intervention is the question of today's episode. Author, midwife, and researcher Amy Romano MBA, MSN, CNM tells us that a large body of evidence on fetal heart rate monitoring indicates that we are likely looking for and finding problems that don't actually exist when it comes your baby's heartbeat in labor. And there is a significant cost to both mom and baby including higher rates of cesarean section, more forcep and vacuum deliveries and fewer vaginal births. In today's episode you will learn:

1. The difference between Intermittent Auscultation (IA) and Continuous Electronic Fetal Monitoring.

2. The evidence or lack thereof to support Continuous Electronic Fetal Monitoring (CEFM) and the risks of EFM.

3. How to ask your hospital and care provider for Intermittent Auscultation for fetal monitoring in labor.

Amy Romano MBA, MSN, CNM

#5 | Preterm Babies & the Case for Midwifery Care: Interview with Midwife/Author Amy Romano

Optimal Care in Childbirth: The Case for a Physiologic Approach

Institute for Perinatal Quality Improvement

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#75 | Fetal Monitoring and Fetal Distress with Midwife-Author Amy Romano

Down to Birth

#75 | Fetal Monitoring and Fetal Distress with Midwife-Author Amy Romano