Interpreting the electronic fetal monitor. Strategies for management.

Electronic fetal monitoring offers the practitioner involved in the intrapartum care of women a mechanism to validate the fetus' physiologic adaptation to the labor and delivery experience. Utilizing a predetermined framework for constant assessment of fetal well-being will assist the clinician in the bedside management of these patients. This pathway of reassurance for fetal evaluation is an effective tool in the intrapartum observations of the fetus. If the fetus can demonstrate his physiologic well-being, labor may continue. However, if there are no signs of reassurance, immediate delivery of the fetus should be considered.