Fetal asphyxia: prevention, detection and intervention.

Fetal asphyxia occurs eight times more frequently in high-risk pregnancies than in normal pregnancies. Primary prevention is possible through exemplary prenatal care, and a variety of techniques are available for early detection of the fetus at risk. Fetal distress demands an urgent search for the cause of hypoxemia. In the absence of any correctable abnormality, persistent hypoxemia requires immediate delivery.