Intrapartum cardiotocograph interpretation by midwives and trainee obstetricians using a modified definition of a fetal heart rate deceleration.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to assess cardiotocograph (CTG) interpretation by midwives and trainee obstetricians using the standard and a modified definition of fetal heart rate deceleration compared with consultant interpretation as the Gold Standard. A randomised survey using the online tool at www.surveymonkey.com between 4 January and 24 April 2009, was conducted at a tertiary obstetric unit, UK. A total of 104 (∼54%) health professionals responded, providing 1,118 responses with respect to the presence of decelerations on 13 anonymised CTGs. Five obstetric consultants (62.5%) provided expert opinion. Midwives and trainee obstetricians were more likely to concur with Consultant opinion when using the modified definition of fetal heart rate deceleration compared with the standard definition. Larger scale studies may be needed to further evaluate the usefulness of the modified definition.