Stepping Hill Hospital - Sonicaid

 

Stepping Hill Hospital run a Triage system in their maternity unit to quickly assess mothers at risk of problems during pregnancy, and to monitor babies in the early stages of labour.  They encourage a natural birth wherever possible, and an important part of this is allowing the mother to stay mobile and active during labour.

 

The sonicaid is a handheld device which listens to the baby’s heart rate to ensure that the baby is coping with labour and not at risk. At present the department doesn’t have any hand held sonicaids, so mothers need to be attached to a larger machine and are unable to move around during delivery. This can delay labour, leading to greater risk to both mother and baby.