Advanced CTG Masterclass: 12th & 13th April 2027

There has been a well-documented need for multi-professional improvement in fetal heart rate monitoring and CTG interpretation to improve neonatal and maternal outcomes.

Issues relating to fetal surveillance, CTG interpretation and escalation of concerns continue to be identified as contributory factors in avoidable harm, including in NHS Resolution’s Early Notification Scheme Progress Report (2019), the RCOG’s Each Baby Counts programme (2020) and the Independent Review of Maternity Services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (June 2026). The National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation (June 2026), further reinforced the importance of effective multidisciplinary working, communication and continuous learning across maternity services.

NHS England’s Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle Version 3 (2023; updated 2025) identifies effective fetal monitoring during labour as a key element of care and recommends annual multidisciplinary training in fetal monitoring and CTG interpretation.

Relevant For

Beneficial for all professionals who are involved in interpreting CTG traces, but particularly for fetal monitoring leads, labour ward leads, obstetric leads and midwives in charge.

Course Objectives and Content

This advanced two-day CTG Masterclass builds on the Foundation CTG Masterclass and is designed for clinicians with a basic understanding of intrapartum fetal monitoring who wish to develop greater confidence in managing complex clinical scenarios.

Delivered by a multi-professional faculty to a multi-professional audience, the course uses an interactive approach combining case discussion, group work and reflection on real clinical practice. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of fetal physiology and pathophysiology, enabling more effective interpretation of CTG traces, improved clinical decision-making and timely escalation of concerns using the wider clinical picture.

Course content includes:

• Learning from national reports and investigations
• Fetal physiology and the types of intrapartum hypoxia
  • Evolving hypoxia
  • Subacute hypoxia
  • Acute hypoxia
  • Chronic hypoxia
  • The impact of oxytocin
• Types of hypoxia and brain injury
• Instrumental birth and CTG interpretation
• Understanding cord gases
• The autonomic nervous system and fetal heart rate variability
• Increased variability
• Meconium and fetal monitoring
• Anaesthetic intervention and its impact on the CTG
• Intermittent auscultation
• Human factors, communication, escalation of concerns and emerging guidance relating to Martha’s Rule
• Prioritisation and labour ward management

This course encourages clinicians to apply a physiological approach to fetal monitoring, supporting safer multidisciplinary decision-making and improved outcomes for women and babies.