Ambulatory fetal heart rate monitoring in small babies
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The feasibility of employing ambulatory fetal heart rate monitoring in small for gestational age foetuses at risk of stillbirth.
IRAS ID
174124
Contact name
Habiba Kapaya
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, months, days
Research summary
Most babies who measure small during pregnancy are born healthy. However, some are small because they are not growing as expected, usually because the placenta (the baby’s ‘life support’ system) is not working properly. These babies are at greatly increased risk of dying before birth, and need to be delivered before they become poorly.
Scans and electronic heart-rate monitoring are currently used to monitor these babies. But they can only be used for short periods and don't always provide enough information to show when to deliver the baby.
A small light monitor has been developed that safely records the baby’s heart rate for up to 16hrs by measuring electrical activity through sticky patches on the mum’s skin (like a normal ECG). The woman carries on with her daily activities while wearing it. Monitoring the heart rate over a longer time may help with decisions about the timing of the delivery and could prevent stillbirth, the aim of our future study. This will include large numbers of women carrying small babies. Before we can do this we needto know whether:
1) Wearing the monitor for 16hrs is practical and acceptable to pregnant women
2) The monitor can provide useful information on the baby’s heart rate at different stages of pregnancy.Thirty pregnant women whose babies are measuring small will be asked to wear the monitor on two occasions, for 16hrs each time. The women will describe what they think about wearing the monitor by completing questionnaires. The data from the monitor will be downloaded and compared with the woman’s medical notes after she has delivered her baby. Results from this study will be publicised and will help with the
design of our future study into the usefulness of this monitor.REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/NW/0278
Date of REC Opinion
30 Apr 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion