Linear and non-linear features for intrapartum cardiotocography evaluation

Since 1960´s obstetricians have been using cardiotocography (CTG) to detect possible ongoing hypoxia of the fetus. CTG consists of fetal heart rate (fHR) and uterine contraction (TOCO) monitoring. The evaluation of the fHR in clinical settings is ruled by FIGO guidelines, which are based on evaluation of macroscopic morphological features derived from the fHR, such as baseline variability. Although upgrades were proposed to the guidelines - none of them is taking into account results achieved by the adult heart rate variability research.