Question

A woman in labor is having very intense contractions with a resting uterine tone >20 mm Hg. The woman is screaming out every time she has a contraction. What is the highest priority fetal assessment the health care provider should focus on at this time?

Answer 1

The highest priority fetal evaluation in which the health care provider should be granted at this time is in the fetal Heart Rate. Fetal heart rate at the time of labor is an indicator of fetal well-being; If this heart rate tends to fall, we are facing a possible picture of fetal distress that merits extraction of the fetus immensely.