An Integrated Review of Uterine Activity Monitoring for Evaluating Labor Dystocia

INTRODUCTION: Labor dystocia is the most common cause of cesarean birth in the United States, yet how dystocia develops during labor remains elusive. Uterine activity monitoring has significant potential for advancing our understanding of labor dystocia. While evaluating contraction frequency and amplitude is a common component of labor dystocia management, the literature describing the relationship between measures of uterine activity and labor dystocia is heterogeneous and has not been synthesized to identify the best methods for use in clinical investigation. METHODS: We conducted a literature search for original research exploring the relationship between uterine activity and labor dystocia published between 2000 and 2019. Included articles were critically reviewed and synthesized. RESULTS: Across 11 identified studies, investigators employed 3 different techniques for monitoring uterine activity and 9 different measures were employed. Uterine activity measures, including Montevideo units, uterine electromyography power density spectrum and sample entropy, and the fall-to-rise ratio of contraction shape, detected patterns associated with labor dystocia or cesarean birth. DISCUSSION: The use of multiple regression with clinical covariates and a uterine activity measure increased the accuracy of predicting cesarean delivery. Uterine electromyography may be especially useful to evaluate labor dystocia phenotypes to differentiate uterine muscle fatigue from understimulation and lead to algorithms for increased precision in the diagnosis of labor dystocia and innovative approaches to treatment.