Monitoring A Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the effectiveness of intrapar-tum fetal monitoring by cardiotocography plus ST anal-ysis using a strict protocol for performance of fetal blood sampling. METHODS: We performed a multicenter randomized trial among laboring women with a high-risk singleton pregnancy in cephalic presentation beyond 36 weeks of gestation. Participants were assigned to monitoring by cardiotocography with ST analysis (index) or cardioto-cography only (control). Primary outcome was metabolic acidosis, defined as an umbilical cord artery pH below 7.05 combined with a base deficit calculated in the extracellular fluid compartment above 12 mmol/L. Sec-ondary outcomes were metabolic acidosis in blood, operative deliveries, Apgar scores, neonatal admissions