Did you prefer external or internal fetal monitoring? - Page 2

[MegBoz]

If there are so many problems with external monitors shifting out of place, has anyone tried securing them with a snugly fitted tank top? Or maybe extra fabric wrapped OVER it - like a loosely wrapped ACE bandage? I had an NST yesterday and it seems like it wouldn't be a problem to have things OVER the monitor to hold it in place, so you could move without it slipping. Just wondering!

[jennica]

Originally Posted by MegBoz

If there are so many problems with external monitors shifting out of place, has anyone tried securing them with a snugly fitted tank top? Or maybe extra fabric wrapped OVER it - like a loosely wrapped ACE bandage? I had an NST yesterday and it seems like it wouldn't be a problem to have things OVER the monitor to hold it in place, so you could move without it slipping. Just wondering!

In my case, it wasn't slipping, the baby was moving down and they kept losing his heartbeat. He was also in a hard position for the monitor to pick him up. This is why they kept moving it around.

[rainbowmoon]

neither. I feel either or could hinder one in labor.

If I were using an OB I would go in pushing so there is very little time. i don't mind vitals being checked but the belt thing for the extrenal monitoring is hindering IMHO.

[PassionateWriter]

here is a description of internal monitoring:

a spiral needle catches under the baby's scalp, and wires extend from teh scalp through the vagina and to the outside. This increases the risk of infection.

requires membrane rupture. breaking the waters increases the risk of fetal distress and, in rare cases, may cause umbilical cord prolapse if the head is still high in the pelvis when it is done.

if the monitor lead comes off the baby's head, it must be replaced which is uncomfortable for the mom and makes another small scalp wound in the baby.

[red_canuck]

"makes another small scalp wound in the baby"

Talk about an understatement. My son has a half inch perfectly round permanent scare on his head from the internal monitor which was placed without my consent. No hair will grow on it, so forever in his life he will have this. Kids already notice since his hair does not cover it (crown of his head). It makes me ill to look at it

it's gotten more pronounced as he's aged, here it is when he was a few months old.
a picture is here, I won't post it in case people do not want to see it.

I share so that people who don't realize the complications know that it's not a simple procedure. Nobody can tell me that having a piece of his scalp removed didn't hurt my son

[sapphire_chan]

That's worse than the scar my dh has from falling onto concrete as a child. (They were jumping off a play structure doing super hero poses and he thought head first would look really cool and didn't see the flaw in the idea until his head was bleeding. Yes, he was really lucky.)

[PassionateWriter]

it isnt the most pleasant thing, is it? it kind of grosses me out even thinking about it.

forgive my wording... i was actually quoting from a book but too tired to get the cite so paraphrased/quoted..but the "another minor scar" was from teh book.

i wrote that b/c i dont think many ppl realize what internal monitoring really is.

[MsElle07]

Another "neither" vote here. You don't HAVE to have either one, and if you educate yourself, you'll see that continuous monitoring does not improve the safety or outcome of your birth. Intermittent monitoring does just as good (if not better) job at detecting fetal distress.

The reason your doctor wants the monitoring is not because it makes it safer for you or the baby, but because he/she wants a paper trail to demonstrate to an insurance company his/her non-culpability in the event of a lawsuit. This doesn't make the doctor a bad person, they just want to protect their livelihood, but they are not practicing evidence-based care when they order continuous monitoring.