Impact of fetal scalp blood pH on the incidence of cesarean section performed for fetal distress.

ABSTRACT

To determine the impact of fetal scalp blood pH sampling (FSBpH) on the incidence of cesarean section performed for fetal distress, a retrospective clinical study was designed to compare rates of surgical intervention before and after the introduction of FSBpH in 1977. The use of the FSBpH sampling has been shown to decrease the rate of cesarean section as a means of dealing with fetal distress from 78.0% to 57.5% without a significant change in the Apgar score.