Intrauterine resuscitation in the setting of a Category II or III fetal heart tracing is addressed in Practice Bulletin No. 106, “Intrapartum Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring: Nomenclature, Interpretation, and General Management Principles”1. In that Practice Bulletin, it is mentioned that oxygen supplementation is commonly used for intrauterine resuscitation in cases of indeterminate or abnormal fetal heart rate patterns despite inadequate data to support its use. However, an increasing body of evidence now demonstrates no benefit of intrapartum oxygen supplementation. In a recent systematic review of 16 trials involving 2,052 women, while there was an expected slight increase in umbilical artery PaO2, there was no difference in umbilical artery pH, neonatal acidemia, admission to neonatal intensive care unit, or any other meaningful clinical outcomes 2. In a recent study involving intrapartum oxygen supplementation, the results found that oxygen supplementation did not resolve category II fetal heart rate tracings 3.
Based on this body of research, routine use of oxygen supplementation in individuals with normal oxygen saturation is not recommended for fetal intrauterine resuscitation.
Please contact clinical@acog.org with any questions.