Role of the Nurse During Labor
When you arrive at the hospital to deliver your baby, it is very unlikely that you will see your doctor for quite some time. The vast majority of your labor is going to be managed by a nurse.
It is the nurse’s job to monitor both you and your baby until it is time for the baby to be delivered. One of the most important ways to do this is by using a fetal heart monitor. This is typically done by placing a transducer on the mother’s stomach that can transmit the sound of the baby’s heartbeat to a recorder, which then displays the heart rate on a screen.
If the nurse had trouble detecting the heartbeat with the monitor on the mother’s stomach, they can put a thin wire on the baby’s scalp that provides a more accurate reading of the baby’s heart.
Importance of Fetal Monitoring
The fetal monitor strip is essentially the baby’s way of communicating with the nurse. A fast or slow heart rate can tell the nurse how the baby is responding to the mother’s contractions. If a nurse fails to recognize when the baby is calling for help, it can result in a loss of oxygen to the baby’s brain that can cause cerebral palsy or other severe injuries.
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