[Can fetal blood analysis be avoided during the expulsion period?]

The examinations described here were made in order to answer the question - how often, in spite of suspicious CTG patterns during the second stage of labor, were the fetal blood tests normal, and a spontaneous delivery or a further propulsion of the presenting part could be expected? The data of 201 patients formed the statistical basis for this survey; these patients were delivered at the Department of Obstetrics in Berlin- Neuk olln Hospital during the period from September 1975 to September 1976. Each patient had a suspicious Hammacher Score (greater than or equal to 3 points) during the second stage of labor, and due to this, the fetal acid-base balance had been examined. The course of 201 labors was divided up into those where the CTG first necessitated a fetal blood analysis in the mid-pelvic plane (n = 159) and those where the FBA was not necessary before the fetus was on the pelvic floor (n = 42). It was shown that with an increase in CTG score points the proportion of pH levels less than or equal to 7.24 increased. The peak of frequency division was at 4 points. In this group however, there was only a pH level of less than or equal to 7.24 in 4.2% of the infants. Acidotic pH levels were only present after greater than or equal to 5 score points. Here it was not possible with the CTG score to give definite evidence about the real risk to the fetus in a single case.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)