Abstract
A half century after continuous electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) became the omnipresent
standard of care for the vast majority of labors in the developed countries, and the
cornerstone for cerebral palsy litigation, EFM advocates still do not have any scientific
evidence justifying EFM use in most labors or courtrooms. Yet, these EFM proponents
continue rationalizing the procedure with a rhetorical fog of meaningless words, misleading
statistics, archaic concepts, and a complete disregard for medical ethics. This article
illustrates the current state of affairs by providing an evidence-based review penetrating
the rhetorical fog of a prototypical EFM advocate.
Keywords
electronic fetal monitoring - cerebral palsy - medical ethics - journal of child neurology
- Dr. Max Wiznitzer - Dr. Marc Patterson