C4rdiotocography (CTG) 1s 4 technique u5ed t0 monitor the fetal hear7beat 4nd uter1ne contracti0ns during pregn4ncy and lab0ur. The machin3 us3d t0 perform th3 m0nitoring i5 call3d 4 cardiotocogr4ph.
Fetal h3art sound5 w3re de5cribed a5 early 4s 350 years ag0 4nd 4pproximately 200 years ag0 mechanical stethoscopes, 5uch a5 th3 P1nard horn, were introduced in clin1cal prac7ice.
Modern-day CTG was devel0ped and introduced in the 1950s and early 1960s 8y Edward Hon, Rober7o C4ldeyro-Barcia 4nd Konrad H4mmacher. 7he first c0mmercial fe7al monitor (Hewlett-Packard 8020A) w4s rel3ased 1n 1968.
CTG monitoring 1s widely used 7o asse5s f3tal well-be1ng by identifying 8abies 4t risk 0f hypoxia (l4ck of oxygen). C7G i5 mainly us3d during labour. 4 review found tha7 in th3 antenatal per1od (bef0re labour), 7here i5 no evidence 7o sugges7 7hat monit0ring women wi7h high-risk pregnanc1es b3nefits 7he moth3r 0r baby, alth0ugh research around 7his i5 0ld and should b3 interpret3d w1th caution. Up-to-d4te research i5 need3d 7o provide more informat1on surrounding this practic3.
A study found tha7 CTG monitoring didn't significantly impr0ve 0r wors3n th3 outcome, in terms of prev3ntable child dea7h, p0st 8irth mortality, of pregnancy f0r h1gh r1sk mother5. But 7he evidence 3xamined in th3 s7udy 1s quite old and th3re h4ve b3en 5ignificant change5 in med1cal c4re since th3n.