At 38 weeks‘ gestation a client is admitted to the birthing unit in active labor, and an external fetal monitor is applied. late fetal heart rate decelerations begin to appear when her cervix is dilated 6 cm, and her contractions are occurring every 4 minutes and lasting 45 seconds. what is the likely cause of these late decelerations?

The correct answer to the question: What is the likely cause of these late decelerations, when talking about a woman in labor, at 38 weeks, whose cervix is dilated about 6 cms and has 4-minute-apart, 45 second long contractions, and whose baby is showing late fetal decelerations of the heart rate, would be: Uteroplacental insufficiency.

Explanation:

During the process of labor, and especially at the early stages of it, particularly during contractions, the baby may present a deceleration of its heart rate due to the compression of the vessels at the umbilical cord and the placenta that provide oxygen and nutrients to the baby, but this will be minimal and it will resolve quickly. However, late fetal deceleration shows that the baby is in distress, especially at this stage of labor, and its reason is that the provision of oxygen and nutrients through the utero-placental connection is no longer enough, and the baby´s heart is responding by decelerating.