![]() A baby will be considered safe as long as the heart rate stays below 160 and above 100-120, and it does not become irregular. Although there is no clear definition for the term "fetal distress," a change in the heart rate signaling that there is not enough oxygen is a sign that the baby is having trouble, or that is, experiencing fetal distress. When the amount of oxygen in the blood decreases, it is called hypoxia. Fetal heart rate normally changes as a result of changes in the supply of oxygen, however some changes may signal that the baby is not getting enough oxygen. When the contraction finishes, the blood vessels reopen and blood returns. When the baby's blood supply is reduced, it is called ischemia. During contractions, blood vessels in the uterus constrict, or narrow, and briefly reduce the supply of oxygen going to the baby. It lets a medical professional monitor a baby's heartbeat in the uterus, including during labor. “She was wearing the same wired monitors we use today! It’s about time we came up with something like the Novii.”Ī version of this article originally appeared on The Pulse, GE Healthcare’s newsroom.Fetal heart rate monitoring is performed to monitor fetal distress. “I was recently watching a video of my mom from the 1960’s when she was in the hospital about to deliver,” Mitchell says. Mitchell says that at EIRMC, staff and patients alike welcomed the upgrade. ![]() However, the Novii is able to acquire reliable tracings on a variety of patient types, including high-BMI patients. In such cases, it can be extremely difficult to achieve an adequate fetal heart rate tracing with traditional wired monitoring. The monitor is also frequently used with women who have a high body mass index (BMI). “We kept the monitor on her the entire time and never lost the baby’s signal,” she says. Mitchell recently cared for a patient who was in labor for 48 hours. “Our patients absolutely love the freedom this monitor gives them,” says Fifield’s colleague Ressha Mitchell, who has been a labor and delivery nurse for 18 years. The patches and the pod are waterproof (up to 1 meter) and comfortable, allowing patients to walk around, use a birthing ball or even shower - all while being closely monitored. The reusable pod digitizes the signals and transmits them over Bluetooth to a Novii box, which displays the information in real-time on a screen and charges the pods. The patches are magnetically connected to a small, plastic Novii Pod, about the size of a small sticky note and about as thick as a deck of cards. The single-use adhesive “peel and stick” patches placed on the woman’s abdomen contain electrodes that pick up fetal and maternal heartbeats and uterine contractions from the skin’s surface. The Novii monitor does not require belts or cables. Top: With the Novii, Fifield used a yoga ball, walked the halls with her husband and easily moved around in the bed. ![]() “When I was on the wired monitors, the nurses would have to come in and adjust the straps every time I wanted to change positions - it was extremely restrictive,” she says.Ībove: “When I was on the wired monitors, the nurses would have to come in and adjust the straps every time I wanted to change positions - it was extremely restrictive,” says nurse Brigitta Fifield. With the Novii, Fifield used a yoga ball, walked the halls with her husband and easily moved around in the bed. “I was strapped to wired monitors when I gave birth to my first two children, and the wireless monitor gave me a completely different experience,” she says. In May, Fifield was able to test the monitor from a different perspective: Her nurse used it when Fifield gave birth to her third baby. The technology, called the Novii Wireless Patch System, allows Fifield to untether soon-to-be moms from their hospital beds.īut that’s not the whole story. Her hospital, the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center (EIRMC), started using a wireless monitor from GE Healthcare that keeps track of the mother’s and baby’s heart rates, and of uterine activity. This past spring, however, Fifield got help.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |