Fetal monitoring devices are used to monitor the heart rate and movement of the fetus and maternal contractions. In medical terms, fetal monitoring is imperative to constantly monitor health of the unborn baby and ensure a safe birth. Fetal monitoring measures the heart rate of the baby. Healthcare providers perform fetal monitoring during late pregnancy and labor, as that process is crucial for keeping the mother and the child safe and healthy. These are also used to monitor chronic mental retardation, hypothermia, lung diseases, neonatal diseases, vision & hearing problems, and jaundice. Fetal monitoring is usually done using handheld doppler device or an electronic fetal monitor. Fetal monitoring is necessary to avoid complications during labor or if patient gets an epidural or if oxytocin is required to induce or augment labor. Moreover there are two ways to perform fetal monitoring namely, external and internal. Fetal monitoring is especially helpful if the patient is expected to have a high-risk pregnancy, especially women suffering from high blood pressure or diabetes.

Furthermore, the devices are used to check if pre-term labor medicines are affecting the baby. Fetal monitoring devices are also used in other tests, which includes contraction stress test, non-stress test and biophysical profile that includes the combination of non-stress test and ultrasound. Uterine contractions or pushing during the second stage of labor also affects heart rate of the fetus and thus, fetal monitoring devices play a vital role through the process..

Fetal monitoring market taxonomy

By product type

Ultrasound

2D Ultrasound

3D & 4D Ultrasound

Doppler Imaging

Intrauterine Pressure Catheter (IUPC)

Telemetry Solutions

Electronic Fetal Monitoring (EFM)

External EFM

Internal EFM

Fetal Electrodes

Fetal Doppler

By Methods,

Invasive

Non-Invasive

By Applications,

Antepartum Fetal Monitors

Intrapartum Fetal Monitors

By Portability,

Portable

Non-Portable

By End Users

Hospitals

Clinics

Increase in birth rate fuels the growth of fetal monitoring market

The boost in fetal monitoring market is due to increased rate of birth and pre-term births. Various government and nongovernment organizations are actively taking initiatives to provide better maternal and fetal care. However, rise in number of problems during pregnancy due to high-blood pressure, diabetes, pre-term labor medicine affect the fetus. So, fetal monitoring device are used routinely by gynecology and obstetrics interventions to examine fetal health during labor and delivery. Furthermore, advancement in technology such as wireless or real time analysis also expands the market of fetal monitoring devices. The demand of fetal monitoring device is also increased significantly in past few years to reduce intrapartum stillbirths. According to WHO, annually 15 million babies are born pre-term which leads to death. Pre-term babies live only till approx. 5 years of age which is also responsible for nearly 1 million deaths in 2015.

Regional growth engines for fetal monitoring market

Asia Pacific is an emerging region for fetal monitoring market, as healthcare awareness is on the rise in the region and the region is the most populous. However, according to stats mention in World Population Prospects: 2015 Revision, the total fertility was pegged at 2.5 children per woman globally. However, there is wide regional difference across the globe that is further expected to offer irregular scenario over the forecast period in fetal monitoring industry. Furthermore, Africa shows the highest fertility at 4.7 children per women. Whereas Europe has the lowest fertility of 1.6 children per women. Both Asia and Latin America and Caribbean have total fertility of 2.2 children per women which can boost the fetal monitoring market.

Major acquisitions to support growth of fetal monitoring market

Rise in support from government for enhanced maternal facilities such as subsidies given by government to expand care in rural area to private not-for-profit organization, in countries like Uganda as they have poor healthcare facilities. Whereas, the Government of the Philippines has also placed health and maternal health high on its political agenda of reform. Moreover, rising investment of company for development of new features for fetal monitoring devices expects to increase the working efficiency of company and broadens its product portfolio. Key players in the fetal monitoring market include ArjoHuntleigh, Inc. (U.S.), C FUJIFILM SonoSite, Inc. (U.S.), GE Healthcare (U.K.), Natus Medical Incorporated (U.S.), Neoventa Medical (Sweden), ovidien PLC (U.S.), Philips Healthcare (Netherlands), Siemens Healthcare (Germany), Analogic Corporation (U.S.), and Spacelabs Healthcare Inc. (U.S.).