ABSTRACT
A cardiotocograph (CTG) is a non-invasive method of recording the fetal heart rate and maternal contractions which became commercially available in the 1960s. A retrospective study done in the late 1970s 1 showed that fetal heart monitoring in labour reduced the incidence of cerebral palsy and perinatal mortality, though this was not confirmed in a subsequent meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. 2 This meta-analysis has shown no reduction in cerebral palsy, neonatal encephalopathy, or perinatal mortality. Furthermore it has also been shown that using fetal heart monitoring in labour is associated with an increase in obstetric intervention.
