Fetal heart rate monitoring during nocturnal polysomnography.

Study Objectives: To evaluate the success rate of adding continuous electronic fetal heart rate monitoring (EFM) during full night polysomnography (PSG), in women with both gestational hypertension (OH) with uncomplicated singleton pregnancies. Method: As part of a larger study evaluating for the presence of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in women with OH compared to women with uncomplicated pregnancies, continuous EFM was added to usual polysomnography. Results: Forty-eight EFM studies (26 with GH and 22 with uncomplicated pregnancies) were evaluated. EFM studies were categorized by the percentage of time that interpretable tracings were obtained: < 25% of the time; 25-50% of the time; or > 50% of the time. We deemed > 50% of the time to be ideal, but under the test conditions 25-50% of the time to be acceptable. For women with OH, 71% of women had ideal or acceptable overnight EFM tracings compared to 82% for women with uncomplicated pregnancies. Of those women who were diagnosed with SDB, 77% had an acceptable or ideal EFM tracing. Conclusions: Adding EFM to conventional polysomnography is feasible and safe. It may prove an important adjunct as interest in sleep disorders of pregnancy continues to expand.