The Early Diagnosis of Foetal Distress.

THE problem of reducing perinatal mortality is closely related to the early and accurate recognition of foetal distress. Although the estimation of urinary oestrogen and/or pregnanediol before labour, and the continuous recording of the foetal heart rate during labour are of some value, the problem is far from solved. In this paper we present the results obtained with two less-known methods for the early diagnosis of foetal distress: the first is used before the onset of labour and before rupture of the membranes; the second is used after rupture of the membranes, and usually during labour.