ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND Until the mid-twentieth century, most intrapartum interventions were aimed at preserving the maternal, rather than the fetal, well-being. e reason was that it was rarely possible to safely intervene on behalf of the fetus because procedures such as cesarean delivery were largely unsafe. It was the advent of surgical asepsis, intravenous transfusions, and safe anesthesia that made intrapartum interventions on behalf of the fetus possible. ese advances made possible the expectation that the mother would survive the cesarean delivery without life-threatening complications. Yet, until the mid-1900s, no reliable methods existed for intrapartum fetal assessment.
