Electrical Activity of the Parturient Human Uterus

FUNCTIONAL uterine disorders cannot be diagnosed with certainty and the progress of labour is doubtful even in those instances when the patients are labelled clinically ‘normal’. The fact that most women eventually deliver a normal new-born without severe complications is of no comfort to the attending physician at the time of the onset of labour, for he has no guarantee, except a statistical one, that his given patient will have a quick and uncomplicated delivery. His uncertainty is the more disturbing, for the outcome of labour will to a great extent depend on his diagnostic and prognostic skill in recognizing functional uterine disorders and his choice of management.