Strip of the Month: Marked Variability: To Worry or Not?

Electronic fetal monitoring is a popular technology used to establish fetal well-being. Despite its widespread use, the terminology used to describe patterns seen on the monitor has not been consistent until recently. In 1997, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Research Planning Workshop published guidelines for interpretation of fetal tracings. This publication was the culmination of 2 years of work by a panel of experts in the field of fetal monitoring and was endorsed in 2005 by both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). In 2008, ACOG, NICHD, and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine reviewed and updated the definitions for fetal heart rate (FHR) patterns, interpretation, and research recommendations. Following is a summary of the terminology definitions and assumptions found in the 2008 NICHD workshop report. Normal values for arterial umbilical cord gas...