The Braseltons

The Fetal Monitoring Machinerey

I have been here long enough to assess the electronic machinery that is monitoring Tammy. I have also been watching and asking questions. I thought someone might appreciate my findings on the external fetal monitoring machinery in the hospital. All that I describe is based on the included picture in this blog post.

Ok, the business end of all of this crud is the big white box with paper coming out of it about center screen (I don’t know the proper name but I will refer to it as the “fetal monitor”). The computer and display is for recording data, displaying data and viewing messages.

Fetal Monitor

This is the main unit. It records data on the graphing paper as seen in the picture. It gives probe updates on what it seems to be .5 second intervals. On the little amber display, you can see many things. On the top left is the baby’s heart rate and there is a little heart icon to the right of the value. Pay attention to this as the icon shows that it is getting a signal. If you aren’t getting the little heart icon, you should just move the baby monitor “puck” until you get a good reading. The baby might have even moved and you lose the reading. We have found that it is up to the parents to keep this in tune as the nurses just don’t have time. A little practice and it is no big deal. The top right shows the contraction strength (It has a medical name but I just call it strength. Realize that the numeric value does not indicate overall contraction pain, it is relative). Just below that, you can see the mother’s blood pressure and heart rate if it is being monitored.

Dads note: You can adjust the volume with the two buttons directly to the right of the amber display. This way, you can hear the baby’s heartbeat and hiccups!

When the mom needs to get up to go potty, take the blood pressure cuff off of the arm if it is on her. Then unplug the two leads on the bottom left of the fetal monitor. It is simple, just pull them out. The accepted technique is to throw these two cables around the mother’s neck while taking the “journey”. You will have to wheel the IV stand/machinery along with you to the potty (after unplugging it from power – don’t worry, it runs on battery while you are walking along). When you get back, just plug the things back in and you are good to go. Don’t misunderstand me, it is a real pain trying to get up and just use the restroom. I make it sound pleasant but it takes 10 minutes and it is a cable nightmare just to release 600cc’s of urine! Every time!

Computer Display

There are two visible graphs. Each thick vertical line indicates one minute. The thin lines in-between indicate 10 seconds each. That is the time scale and is quickly recognizable. Below the graphs, you can find averages and also the blood pressure and mother’s heart rate if it is being monitored.

The top graph has two red lines that indicate the maximum heart rate (180) and minimum heart rate (90). A normal baby should fall between those two values. We have noticed that the value fluctuates wildly as the baby is awake and is pretty flat when the baby sleeps. If you have little blank spots on the graph, try manipulating the probe that is on the mother’s belly. The baby may have moved or the mother may have bumped it. Again, it is up to the parents to assist a bit in this department.

The bottom graph is the contraction graph. That, again, is my naming scheme. You can view contractions on that graph. In our case, the value is not that high. It is still a contraction. There are no contractions visible on the included picture. We are in the hospital to stop the contractions . To count the contractions, measure from the beginning of the contraction to the beginning of the next contraction. It is really easy to read since the display shows the last 7 minutes on the screen.

Dad’s note: Looking at the computer display, at the very top slightly to the right of center, there is a cyan colored button with white text. It either says “To: 7″ or “To: 14″. That is the viewable scale on the screen. If you hit “To: 14″, it will show the past 14 minutes. It toggles back and forth. Nifty.

The computer display also pops up alerts with other mother’s graphs on it. It alerts when there is no signal or there is a value out of range. All rooms get the alert so where ever the nurse is, he/she will be able to respond appropriately. It is kind of fun seeing other people’s graphs popping up.

I hope this helps a little bit. Normally, I try not to exceed my limits by messing with stuff. I just mention things that I learn that are things expected of the parents. It just took me longer to find out on my own.

–Tom B.