Birth Outcomes, Intervention Frequency, and the Disappearing Midwife—Potential Hazards of Central Fetal Monitoring: A Single Center Review

Abstract

This single institution's experience indicates that in birth units staffed for one-to-one care in labor, central fetal monitoring does not appear to be associated with either a benefit on perinatal outcomes or an increase in cesarean delivery and other interventions. However, it is associated with a reduction in the time a midwife spends with the laboring woman.