The possibilities of intrapartum fetal monitorization in obese pregnant women

Obesity, as an epidemic, is one of the major public health challenges of the 21st century. It affects more and more people annually, and through its numerous negative psychological and physical effects as a risk factor it increases the morbidity and mortality of several diseases. It has a major impact on pregnancy; it is well established that both infertility and abortion is more common among obese women. During pregnancy, obesity increases the risk of intrapartum complications, affects the way of delivery, and has an impact on fetal development. Obesity puts an extra burden on the already overloaded maternal circulation, leading to electrophysiological deviations. Increased maternal fat tissue limits the assessment of fetal well-being during labor, which is external fetal monitoring (cardiotocography, CTG) nowadays. It has the advantage of being non-invasive, although subjectivity in the interpretation of the CTG trace and discrepancies in the analysis decreases the sensitivity and the reliability of the method. The current review aims to summarize what kind of intrapartum methods are currently available to have a better assessment of the fetal well-being, and to achieve better perinatal outcomes in the case of obese mothers.