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| Pregnancy & Birth
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Parent Strap
Can I get out of being strapped to the bed during labour?
Q I’m worried about being strapped to a bed and monitored during labour. Is this essential?
Natalie Seah, Jurong West Street 42
A During labour, changes occur in the womb as it contracts. As this sometimes affect the baby’s heartbeat, such signs can be picked up by a monitoring device known as a cardiotocogram (CTG). As this machine tracks the baby’s heart rate, as well as the strength and frequency of your contractions, it can indicate that your baby is potentially in danger and may need to be delivered earlier. However, not all patients in labour require continuous foetal heart rate monitoring. If you don’t have risk factors that may affect the baby - for example, a low amniotic fluid level, bleeding, foetal growth restriction and a previous Caesarean section - one option is to have intermittent monitoring with the CTG. You should discuss this with your gynae beforehand.
This question is answered by Dr John Yam, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Gleneagles Hospital.
If you have any comments or practical suggestions, write to us at editor@family.sg
- Mother & Baby
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