Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about cardio tcography. And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com slash CTG or in the labor and delivery section of Finals, Obstetrics and Gynecology

book. So let's get straight into it. Cardiotocography or CTG is used to measure the fetal heart

rate and the contractions of the uterus. It's also known as electronic fetal monitoring, and it's a useful

way of monitoring the condition of the fetus and the activity of labour. Cardiotocography can help

guide decision-making during labour, however it should not be used in isolation for decision-making,

and it's essential

to take into account the overall clinical picture.

Let's talk about how it's performed. Two transducers are placed on the abdomen to get the CTG readout.

One transducer is placed above the fetal heart to monitor the fetal heartbeat, and the other

transducer is placed near the fundus of the uterus to monitor the uterine contractions.

The transducer above the fetal heart monitors the heartbeat using Doppler ultrasound. The transducer above the fundus

uses ultrasound to assess the tension in the uterine wall demonstrating uterine contractions.

Next let's talk about the indications for continuous CTG monitoring.

The indications for monitoring in labour include sepsis, maternal tachycardia with a heart rate in the mother

above 120 beats per minute, significant maconium,

which is when the fetus opens its bowels during labour,

preeclampsia, particularly if the blood pressure is above 160 over 110,

fresh antipartum hemorrhage, or bleeding from the vagina,

a delay in labour,

the use of oxytocin to stimulate contractions, and disproportionate

maternal pain, where the mother is in pain which would not be expected during a normal labour.

Next let's talk about the key features that are found on a CTG, and there are five key features to look out

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