Towards fetal heart rate monitoring at home using the abdominal fetal electrocardiogram

Fetal heart rate monitoring is a valuable means of assessing fetal health during pregnancy. However, the technique is at present largely confined to use in recumbent subjects for relatively short periods of time. This paper describes the authors' work on the development of a fetal heart rate recorder for long term use in ambulant subjects, utilising the FECG obtained from the maternal abdomen. Although it cannot be guaranteed that this signal will be obtainable, it offers non-invasive long-term monitoring that cannot be performed by other means. Furthermore, the authors' preliminary results suggest that sufficient data will be produced to make the technique clinically useful.