[Hypoxia and acidosis--morbidity (author's transl)].

A critical study based on 3291 analyses of blood from the umbilical cord, and the consequences. In routine analyses acidosis (pH 7.10) was found in 2.03%. This percentage is considered too high. Protracted labor carries special risks. Conventional and intensive care supervision, when risks are foreseen, are often ineffective, since 48.8% of acidoses were recognized only post partum. More general intensive observation with internal cardiotocography and microinvestigations of blood appears to be the only way in which the frequency of acidosis could be decisively reduced.