monitoring during labour

hi, has anyone had to be monitored from start to finish during labour before ? if so can you tell me whats involved are you stuck in bed all time?:(

Not necessarily. I had a wireless monitor that meant i could walk around pretty much as i pleased. :) You can always ask if they have one.

I was monitored (one with wires) the whole time and hooked up to an IV. But, I was able to move around and with the help of a fantastic midwife was able to have an active labor.

I could move around as much as the wires let me, and they were fairly long... but mostly I got freaked out as if I moved too much the monitor would lose Sam. When I mentioned that I wasn't coping because of that I was given one that attached to Sam with a scalp clip.

BW

if you dont mind me asking butterfly warrior did the scalp clip hurt my doctor wonts one to go on my babys head but i looked it up on net looks quite scarey & said can cause infection but im guessing doctor knows best the monitors dont worry me but the scalp one does more worryed going to hurt the baby

thanks for all your replys & if anyone else had a monitor on babys head during labour was it all ok

I had monitoring the whole time i was in hossy.

1, was with being strapped to the bed
2. was a portable monitor...much better!
3. was with the scalp monitor

the scalp monitor wasnt the most comfortable to put on but it did make it easyer to move around.

Where I work unfortunately we don't have ones that give you a great range of movement. Well you can move but it usually means loosing bubs heart beat and readjusting it alot. You can use some good sticky tape (if not allergic to it) over the straps which seems to help.
With the scalp monitoring it does require a vaginal examination which often takes quite a bit longer then a normal vaginal examination. I'd say its similar discomfort. Also you have to have ruptured membranes to have the scalp clip put on and nothing like Hepatitis, syphylis etc due to the risk to bub. Its easier to apply when your dilated quite a bit over 2-3cm as the target your aiming for (bubs head) is bigger the more dilated the cervix is.
My Aunty had an undiagnosed breech and her son had the scalp clip attached to his bum. Surprisingly it was still effective :ROFL:

thanks for your reply i had never heard of the scalp monitor till doctor said i just said oh ok than went home & looked it up didnt have any monitors with last 2 so bit new to me but i guess its more common in labour than i though so good to hear others thats had it , it brings peace of mind knowing its ok yeah im guessing putting it on wont be a pleasent experence! wont be looking fwd to that part but what evas best for bubba had to laugh bout putting monitors on babys bum lol thats so much for the info !!!

I had a monitor that restricted me to the bed, midwife got a bit nasty as I felt like I needed to go to the toilet and they didn't like having to take it off then put it back on again.

But it wasn't to bad, I really liked that DH could talk me through my contractions as he could see them peak on the monitor. I am planning to ask to be monitored again this time, because DH was so great last time I want that verbal support again. Plus i like to know bub is ok!!

Is there a reason they want you to have continuous monitoring?

I had all that monitoring as i was trying for a vbac

i was monitored untill my contractions got to much to lay down then i got up and moved around and said the only chance they have of getting me back up on the bed was if i had an epidural, she checked and told me i could have it and was monitored for the rest of my labour.

To put a scalp monitor on your waters will have to be broken. 2 wires are attatched to your baby's head by a small screw which screws into your baby's scalp but not into the bone. There is a chance of an infection at the insertion site.

DS1 - I was monitored continuously from the time they could get me onto the bed for an examination as DS1 was experiencing a drop in heart rate during contractions (which is normal, but his rate was dropping a little lower than they liked). Bub ended up having scalp monitor placed. DS1 was born less than 3 hours after getting to hospital. For me labouring on my back wasn't that big a deal, although I'd anticipated an active labour (of which I'd experienced several hours at home). Bub showed no marks after being born and didn't appear to have been too concerned about having been attached to a scalp monitor for an hour or so ;).

DS2 - Same as above except bub didn't need scalp monitor. However, the monitor I wore must have been a more modern one (than with DS1) as I wasn't required to lay down when I had it on. Mind you, I didn't feel the need to be too active with my labour (I just swayed back and forth through contractions), so I can't tell you how much "freedom" you'd have with it on. Again, DS2 was born approx 3 hours after getting to hospital, so I wasn't hooked up to a monitor for too long.

FWIW my Ob said that if a scalp monitor was used on bub (this was before I had DS2) then I would have more freedom of movement than if I was hooked up to an "ordinary" monitor.

I'm a little curious too as to why they'd tell you now they want a scalp monitor on bub's head ... would've thought that was something that would crop up as needed during your labour. Then again, I'm not a birth professional either!

The only time we use a scalp electrode over external CTG monitoring is if bub's heart rate is of a concern (say having some decels) and we need very good accurate monitoring and can't afford to loose it with the external CTG. The internal CTG where its attached to bubs head is more accurate if placed on correctly where as at times the external CTG can loose sections of bubs heart rate or swap to mums heart rate so your left wondering if its a true indication of what bubs heart rate is doing.
We also often used the scalp monitoring in multiple births if its difficult to get both babies (often you end up monitoring the one twice and the other misses out on the monitoring)
Also at times if the woman has a larger body habitus which makes it difficult to monitor the baby (especially if its OP or in a funny position as well) we will do a scalp electrode. In some woman in labour with more body tissue finding the heart rate can be near impossible without getting them to lie in a particluar position and during labour this can be near impossible especially when your doing it every 15minutes (with a doppler) some woman who are larger then the average you have no trouble so I don't mean to say its all bigger woman just sometimes this is an added factor as to why they may use a scalp clip instead.
I know some hospitals do it more routine then where I work. I'd say it wouldn't even be 1:50 who have a scalp clip where I work. They almost always have the external CTG if continuous monitoring is needed.

thanks everyone well to be honist its me who wants to be monitored & doctor as well my sister in law & brother lost there baby last month during labour as he was coming down the birth canel his cord got pressed&cut off all blood surply cause he wasnt being monitored they had no idea he had passed away cause he had strong heart beat ,doc said it doesnt happen often & it was so sad, but freaked me out as i am 39 & this is my last baby i have 2 boys & this one is a little girl & my doctor deliver my brothers baby&he said he said was worst day of his life so its really a terrible loss for me, family,doctor , & doctor said if to put you& him& my family at ease we will monitor my baby threw labour which i want & i am a larger woman too so he said would of monitered me anyway but it will help me relax cause as much as it will be a happy time my thoughts will be thinking of the loss the doctor just said the scalp monitor will really help them keep track with baby beta so thats why i thought id ask you guys cause i had never heard of that kind of moniting before

Ah fair enough, so sorry for your loss and your sisters cant have been easy.

If you like moving around through out labour i would go with the scalp monitor as its easier to get around and you dont have to carry anything around like the portable monitor.

Good luck with everything im sure it will turn out fine

thankyou i didnt really move much with other 2 births so wont really worry me if i cant move around to much but my last birth was 9 years ago but they were easy births well when i say eay i didnt have drugs & they were 6 hour labours so i am hoping this one will be faster but i am 9 years older&more wiser& not so strong so i am planning to have pain releif this time but i hope all will go ok im guessing everyone has the fear but cause of the loss last month just made me more stressed bout labour this time around, i was going to ask for a c/s cause of my fears but i know thats alot of recovery i had a tubal reversal last year i remember it well&remember the recovery too! plus i have a son with special needs feeding tube,autistic,non verbal so i have to be well to look after him too

Twinklestars, I am so sorry for what your family has gone through. We were very nearly in the same situation - my son's cord was wrapped around his neck twice and he was quite tangled. Pushing wasn't going so well for us as my contractions were quite short. My OB was fantastic, though - the only indication I had that anything was going wrong was "if you don't get him out with this contraction, we're giving you an episiotomy". I was really glad, in hindsight, that we'd gone with the scalp clip monitor. It just left him with a tiny little scab on his scalp for about a week. I've seen worse marks on babies after forceps deliveries or ventouse extractions.

BW

wow that would of been scarey , i will defenlty go with the scalp monitor cause sounds like if there is something wrong thats the tool thats going to really pick up anything im so glad everything turned out ok for you in the end it does help to have a wonderful doctor too sounds like yours didnt panick& kept you carm & be able to deliver son things can go wrong so fast sometimes so defently be peace of mind there going to be watching my little girl closely!:D

Yep, my OB was absolutely wonderful with it all. She had to cut his cord before he was fully out, but DH wasn't too bothered about not getting to cut it after all. She was so calm about it all that the true reality of the situation didn't even occur to me until a few weeks later when I was talking to a friend about how my birth had gone.

Just remember that you won't be able to go straight to the scalp monitor, it's only useful once your waters have broken and you're partly dilated already. Mine went on at 5cm.

BW

sorry to hear of your family's loss.

I was monitored for both my births for medical reasons. The first was straight forward but the second monitoring was on and off for 36 hours. I hated the external CTG monitoring as it would pick up everything and do stupid things like add my heartbeat and the bubs together and show HUGE spikes at the peak of a contraction.

I can't stand lying down during labour and felt like I had a leash on (only able to move short distances. Later on the dr and midwives realised that it just wasn't working for me and the information wasn't accurate either so I had the scalp clips attached. It took 4 contractions to get them onto bubs head and seriously I consider that the most painful part of my labour. Once on though I felt heaps more mobile and able to move without being bothered by so many cords and straps (just a little one around your leg to tape the cords coming from bubs head).

As I was going through transition (during a huge contraction) the scapl clips fell off. Just wanted to let you know is this is the time you are concerned about. We were back to square 1, not knowing how bub was doing and hoping that all was okay. Luckily it was only 10 mins til he arrived and all was fine.

Just know that they can come off (possibly due to not being inserted properly). Good luck

What a sad time for your family - understandable you'd want all precautions available during your upcoming labour. Good luck with everything.

I had monitoring with Ds2 (scalp monitor) and I could move around with him.

When I had M in December, I also was monitored, basically from the start when I was induced, (I was also in the early stages of natural labour), my Ob was concerned because of low birth weight & aging placenta, so I had a scalp monitor put on bub. I was only allowed to move around if the midwife was in the room with me, the monitor was taken off so I could go to the toilet. I was asked to stay on the bed as much as possible, and if I needed to roll over, to have the midwife in the room with me. The Ob and midwife also suspected that bubs cord was around her neck, which was showing up on the monitor as dropping heart rate and there was discussion at the end (which I knew nothing about) whether to let me to continue or send me up for a c/sect to get her out safely. In the end, they let me continue, unlooped the cord and let DH deliver her.

My Ob was also watching the length of the cord attached to the scalp monitor to see progress of labour.

My thoughts are with you and your family.

while I was waiting for a bed at the birthing suite i had to be monitored, took almost an hour to finally get a bed! but yeah, I was hooked on to the machine, after that i wasn't monitored only monitored as i was delivering my daughter.

thanks everyone for your helpfull replys:p