No contractions showing on toco monitor

[RNlove17]

I'm not an ob nurse and admittedly know little about the specialty... but I recently had a baby in December. Throughout my whole labor, they could not get a reading of my contractions. They said i had "atypical" contractions; they were all pelvic (excruciating, btw). I never really felt any uterine contractions, and for awhile I didn't think I was even in labor because the nurse that taught our childbirth class had said contractions start at the fundus and go down. I also got an epidural which did not work, my left leg was numbed and that was all. Not sure if those 2 things were connected or not. The staff just went off of when I told them I was having a contraction/me screaming and writhing in pain lol. The baby's heart rate was able to be traced though.

Is this normal? I remember being so worried that they weren't tracing. So now, looking back, I'm just curious if this happens more frequently or rarely? Thank you, oh wise ob nurses

[klone, MSN, RN]

Are you obese? That can cause a lot of difficulty with the toco tracing. It's also possible they just didn't have it on the right spot - sometimes you need to try it on 4 or 5 different places before finding a spot that traces.

And no, I doubt the epidural had anything to do with it.

[diamond_girl, BSN, RN]

On 2/13/2014 at 4:40 PM, klone said:

Are you obese? That can cause a lot of difficulty with the toco tracing. It's also possible they just didn't have it on the right spot - sometimes you need to try it on 4 or 5 different places before finding a spot that traces.

And no, I doubt the epidural had anything to do with it.

I agree with this ^^^. Usually have trouble tracing contracts on obese pts, or they just couldn't get it placed in a good spot.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

We can't provide a reliable answer and request that you contact your provider. Best wishes with your new baby