Electronic fetal monitoring in relation to cesarean section delivery, for live births and stillbirths in the U.S., 1980

Abstract

In the 1980 National Natality and Fetal Mortality Surveys, information about fetal monitoring and type of delivery was obtained from hospitals for a sample of 9,941 live births and 6,386 fetal deaths of 28 weeks' gestation or more. Data in this analysis are weighted to provide national estimates of live births and late fetal deaths that occurred in U.S. hospitals during 1980. Electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) was used for 47.7 percent of live births; 27.2 percent were monitored by Doppler ultrasound only, 10.2 percent by scalp electrode only, 6.3 percent by Doppler ultrasound and scalp electrode only, and 4.0 percent by other methods and combinations. The distribution by type of EFM used was similar for the 42.7 percent of late fetal deaths (also called stillbirths) that were monitored. Variation in the use of EFM for live births and stillbirths is examined according to maternal age, parity, education, race, marital status, income, previous fetal loss, underlying medical conditions, complications of pregnancy, complications of labor, duration of labor, infant birth weight, and length of gestation. Among live births, 17.1 percent were delivered by cesarean section, as were 16.8 percent of stillbirths. The association between fetal monitoring and the primary cesarean section rate (the probability of cesarean section for women who had never had one) for all birth orders and for first births is examined according to characteristics of the mothers and the infants. Factors involved in the consistent association found between fetal monitoring and the primary cesarean section rate are discussed.