Effect of Intrapartum Maternal Oxygenation on Umbilical Cord pH

Introduction Administration of maternal O2 is a commonly performed intrauterine of pregnant women as a resuscitation technique, where more than 50% of births are given additional oxygen. Maternal O2 administration may range from minutes to hours, that might reach 78% of the duration of labor. It was reported that oxygen supplementation was used to improve fetal acid-base metabolism or suspicious fetal heart monitoring patterns. While the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) indicated that there was no evidence for maternal oxygen. Another study reported that O2 administration improves category II fetal heart tracings (FHTs), that may be correlated with fetal hypoxemia and acidemia leading to maternal hyperoxygenation and promoted oxygen transfer from placenta to the fetal circulation.