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The Grand Tour
A Quick Trip Through the Labor and Delivery Room
By Jacqueline Rupp
(Perigee Trade, 1999) and a doula with more than 20 years' experience. "You have the right to not only give informed consent to a procedure, but also informed refusal. There are benefits to using the Doppler, rather than the FHM. For instance, women increase their risk of needing an intervention, like a vacuum extraction, when monitored by the continuous fetal heart monitor."
If there are complications or labor is being induced then the FHM will most likely be used. "The continuous monitor is actually three different monitors: one which monitors contractions, one to monitor blood pressure and the other to monitor Baby's heart rate," says Stark. "This information is tracked on a computer screen in the room and also can be accessed throughout the hospital by the labor team through a network. The device straps around the abdomen basically like an ultrasound using a gel. Using this monitor, though, does mean that the mom-to-be will have to stay in bed through the whole labor."
There are two other types of monitoring that women should be familiar with, according to Stark. The internal uterine pressure catheter, which determines if labor is progressing, is only used when a patient is not dilating properly. The other monitor is the fetal scalp electrode, which is a small wire that is placed on the baby's head to monitor the baby's heartbeat. This is only used when there are problems detecting a heartbeat with the fetal heart monitor and there are symptoms of distress.
If you are not hooked up to the continuous monitor there may e a variety of other places in the room where you can try laboring. "We offer birthing balls, a Jacuzzi in some rooms and the rocking chair glider, which moms-to-be can use to help with labor," says Stark. The birthing ball is a large rubber inflated ball that you can sit and rock on to relieve pressure and pain from contractions. The Jacuzzi is used as a form of hydrotherapy. The water removes pressure from your body, and the warmth and massaging action of the bubbles allow you to relax and work through the contractions easier.
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