Pulse oximetry during labour--does it give rise to hope? Value of saturation monitoring in comparison to fetal blood gas status.

Objective: Purpose of this presentation is to show the diagnostic power of fetal pulse oximetry in comparison to the other blood gas parameters from fetal blood samplings (FBS). The distribution of saturation readings in acidotic fetuses and normally oxygenated fetuses should be established.

Study Design: A fetal pulse oximetry system (N400, FS14) was evaluated in a strictly observational study design based on blinded saturation display and on continuous data storing.