The views of pregnant women towards the use of artificial intelligence for the evaluation of cardiotocogram during labor

Introduction: since the use of artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more common in medicine, it is important to assess patients' view on its use in the delivery department. The aim of this study was to evaluate the views of pregnant women towards the use of AI in the evaluation of cardiotocogram (CTG) during labor. Methods: an anonymous questionnaire consisting of 21 questions was created. The study was conducted on the website www.apklausa.lt, the questionnaire was active from October 4, 2023, until February 15, 2024. Patients were enrolled by distributing a QR code with an active link to the survey website or a printed paper version of the questionnaire in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Hospital Kaunas Clinics. 3 questions were social-demographic, 3 questions were designed to assess patients' knowledge on AI and 15 questions were designed to evaluate patients' opinion on the use of AI for CTG evaluation. Statistical analysis was performed using "IBM SPSS 29.0". Results: 358 women participated in the study. Most respondents (72.1%) had higher education. The majority of participants considered themselves as aware of AI, knowing its description (92.7%). Younger pregnant women and women with higher education were more likely to know the description of AI and its potential applications in the field of medicine. More than half (64.8%) did not agree that doctors will be replaced by AI in the future and that doctors will become dependent on computerised systems, which would result in a decline of quality of care. Most respondents (78.2%) agreed to have their CTG evaluated during labor by a physician using AI and 88.3% of women stated that when AI is used to assess CTG during labor, the conclusion should be confirmed by the doctor. Conclusion: younger women and those with higher education are better informed about AI and its potential applications in medicine. Respondents agree that AI is making progress in medicine and that its use in evaluating CTG during labor would make the doctor's job easier. However, they do not believe that AI will take over doctors' role in the future. The majority of pregnant women would agree to have their CTG evaluated by a physician using AI, but the final decision should be made by the doctor.