Many women object to them on the grounds they interfere with mobility during labor. But the rate of newborn complications in hospitals not using fetal monitors appears no different from the hospitals using the monitors and having a higher cesarean delivery rate. Fetal Monitors are used during cesarean births and premature births. Cesarean births or C-section is a surgical procedure performed under general anesthesia to remove the infant from the uterus through the abdominal wall. C-sections are performed in five to fifteen percent of births.
Fetal monitors increase the chance of detecting infant distress.
Between five and ten percent of all infants are born more than two weeks before the due date. Infections, longstanding illness, poor nutrition, and complication of pregnancy also can lead to premature labor. However, the majority of premature births are unexplained. Due to the wide spread use of fetal monitoring the chances of a premature infant surviving and developing normally are excellent. When mothers who are in labor are given anesthesia, fetal monitors are also used.