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Fetal monitoring |
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Fetal monitoring is a procedure done by monitoring of the health status of a fetus using 1 or more devices, some that are electronic. The continuous measurement of the fetal heart is considered the gold standard of monitoring; it may be done along with an electrocardiogram via wires screwed into the baby’s scalp through the widening cervix. Modern technology currently makes it possible to monitor even the fetal blood circulation velocity and the velocity of blood circulation in the placenta. Although this method is experimental for monitoring maternal hormones it can have an effect on fetal brain development and create force of uterine contractions done by cardiotocography to monitor fetal development and treat different problems in the fetus prenatally; to obtain images of the fetus by using ultrasound and to examine the fetus’s heart by procedure called echocardiography; and to monitor amniotic fluid and thereby assess fetal kidney functions and others. There are 2 well known prenatal tests – amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling. Amniocentesis involves the sampling and testing of fetal cells floating in amniotic fluid. A needle is inserted through the woman’s abdomen and into the uterus, and a tiny amount of the fluid surrounding the baby is taken out. This test is usually performed to detect down syndrome, as well as other chromosome abnormalities, inherited metabolic disorders and some structural defects. Another test is called chorionic villus sampling, in which a thin tube is passed into the vagina and through the cervix, and a very small sample of tissue is removed from the chorionic villi, finger-shaped projections of the fetal sac that later will develop into the placenta. This test allows detection of down syndrome in an individual.
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| Category |
Medical Procedures > F
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| Related Searches |
fetal heart monitoring, electronic fetal monitoring |
| Date Submitted |
26-Aug-2005
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