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Auscultation – The Action of Listening

Abstract:

(Reprinted with permission from the editor of Birthspirit Midwifery Journal, Issue 5, 9-17). BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION Intermittent auscultation (IA) of the fetal heart during labour is the recommended monitoring modality for well women with uncomplicated pregnancies. Monitoring of the fetal heart is an important component of the midwifery care of women in labour. The purpose is to monitor changes in fetal heart rate (FHR) that provide alert signals, or in other words, FHR monitoring is a screening tool for the detection of FHR abnormalities. Today, IA is recommended as the method of fetal monitoring that should be offered to women who are healthy and have had an otherwise uncomplicated pregnancy (NICE 2001; RANZCOG, 2006; NZCOM, 2005; SOGC, 2007; MIDIRS & the NHS centre for reviews & dissemination, 2003; AWHONN, 2006). This article describes the history of auscultation and the ability to listen to the fetal heart beat as a means of determining fetal well-being.

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fetal heart monitoring, fetal surveillance, intermittent auscultation