Drawbacks of Fetal Monitors

The Market For Fetal Monitors

Fetal electrodes and monitors have gained surging popularity throughout the world. Used in hospitals, clinics, and by other users, fetal monitoring has for sure changed the way things were done during pregnancy.

This monitoring can be done through various instruments that can include a fetal doppler or an electrode as mentioned earlier.

Pregnant women that are a patient of maternal health conditions like diabetes, preeclampsia, or bleeding during pregnancy are recommended to go with this fetal monitoring.

In case of a baby bump not growing or the mother sees blood pass through during stool, a fetal monitoring test is important.

What Are Fetal Monitors

Fetal monitors refer to a technological device that helps healthcare providers in hearing and recording the heartbeat of a baby.

This sort of monitoring is usually done while a woman is experiencing contractions, or going through delivery, or can also be done before delivery, during the various appointments.

Monitoring further can be divided into different types which are the following; auscultation, internal fetal monitoring, and electronic fetal monitoring. Auscultation and electronic fetal monitoring are two prime examples of external monitoring.

What Are Fetal Monitors

Auscultation is done with the help of a small, hand-held device known as the transducer.

This transducer is connected to the fetal heart rate monitor through wires. The transducer is directly placed on the woman’s abdomen so it can effectively and quickly pick up the baby’s heartbeat.

Electronic fetal monitoring is used during contractions to monitor the heartbeat of your baby during labor pain.

Two firm belts are wrapped around your abdomen. And one of these belts is supposed to record the heartbeat of your baby. The other belt is designated to measure the length and intensity of each contraction.

Internal fetal monitoring is used by doctors if they’re unable to get a reading from external methods. It should be kept in mind that internal fetal monitoring can only be used once the water is broken.

An electrode is attached to the part of the baby’s body that is to be found in the closest contact with the cervical opening.

What Was Used Before Fetal Monitors

Before Fetal heart monitoring was introduced to the medical world, obstetric stethoscopes of around 1800 were widely used.

However, even before the 1800s, instead of fetal monitors it was the common norm to monitor the heartbeat of a baby via hands.

What Was Used Before Fetal Monitors

Yes, as shocking as it may sound, hands were previously used by doulas to understand the ups and downs of a baby’s heartbeat and make an indication about its health.

However, as time passed and technology took over the world, obstetric stethoscopes as mentioned above replaced the extremely traditional process.

An obstetric stethoscope comes in the form of long, thin, flexible tubing.

This design is made so to allow the stethoscope to be placed around the abdomen of the belly of a pregnant lady. The tubing is made up of eartips located at the top, binaural, brace, and bell diaphragm.

Advantages of Fetal Monitors

The benefits that are gained via fetal monitors are extremely wide in variety.

At the top of the list, we have the advantage that a fetal monitor allows your doctor to assess the health of your baby.

If something wrong is detected during the monitoring, strict action can be taken immediately and that too on time. In case of an abnormal heart rate in your baby, the doctors will immediately order several tests to get to the bottom of the matter.

Advantages of Fetal Monitors

Intermittent auscultation tends to be extremely recommended as it is a safe and acceptable method during labor that is low-risk.

Furthermore, the overall process of fetal monitoring doesn’t require any maintenance. What this means is that no aftercare is required of any sort and the patient can continue living as before.

Fetal monitoring is also one of the cheapest and quickest ways of keeping a well-informed check on one’s baby’s health.

One of the most important considerations when it comes to fetal monitors is that it doesn’t lead to any form of discomfort for either the baby or the mother.

It is an easy, straightforward, and comfortable process. And the whole situation of a baby’s health is displayed right there on a digital screen.

Drawbacks of Fetal Monitors

Drawbacks of Fetal Monitors

However, certain questions have been raised regarding the use of fetal monitors which include:

  • This sort of monitoring requires high-usage electricity and tons and tons of batteries. So, unless the hospital doesn’t have a great electricity backup, this monitoring method won’t be effective.
  • If the health care provider is inexperienced or relatively new, there is a high chance they won’t know how to use and operate the fetal monitor. Hence, the baby’s heartbeat may not be detected.
  • When the monitoring is done during contractions, the process can be quite uncomfortable for the mother.

The Market For Fetal Monitors

The global fetal market had a record of $2,9317 million in 2019. And now this value is going to go as high as $4,251.1 million by 2027.

The overall increase in the world population is the greatest market driver for fetal monitors. Furthermore, as developing economies further develop and are introduced to technology, the use of fetal monitors has been increasing ever since.

The use of fetal monitors is the highest in the following areas; North America, Germany, the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Japan, China, India, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the rest of LAMEA.

The Take-Home Point

All the information mentioned above is for all the pregnant women out there who are still unsure about whether to go for a simple ultrasound or use a more effective approach which of fetal monitoring.

Fetal monitoring is cheap and accessible for many. Therefore, there is no reason why healthcare providers won’t employ this process.

To stack yourself up for the procedure, take a look at the medical instruments being offered by AKW Medical. You get to choose from a never-ending list of options, each equally reliable and strong.

Medical Equipment Specials

Subscribe to receive company updates and receive exclusive offers on new and refurbished medical equipment!

AKW Medical Team