A portable foetal heart monitor which has been developed could help to cut the number of stillbirths in Britain

Device offers hope of cutting stillbirth rate - Guardian

Extract:

"A portable foetal heart monitor which has been developed for pregnant women could help to cut the number of stillbirths in Britain, according to the charity that funded the research.
About 3,500 babies are stillborn every year in England and Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics. Stillbirth is often related to risk factors such as a mother's history of diabetes or high blood pressure, or a previous stillbirth.

Until now there has been no way to monitor the heartbeat of the foetus continuously without admitting the mother to hospital and attaching her to a machine. After 15 years' work, scientists funded by the charity Action Medical Research have come up with a device the size of a mobile phone which can be worn throughout pregnancy by women in risk categories.

"Potentially it will help save lives of babies and in some cases mothers who are at risk," said John Crowe, an electronics engineer from Nottingham University involved in the project.

About 70,000 women, a tenth of those who go through pregnancy every year, could benefit from the device, saving money for the NHS and preventing deaths. More than 1.2 million women were admitted to hospital for complications of pregnancy during 2004-05, accounting for 17.5% of all women inpatients."

Diabetes and high blood pressure are both mentioned here as risk factors for stillbirths. - Both diabetes and high blood pressure (and also many other health problems) are associated with salt sensitivity. - Pregnant women should be strongly advised to minimise their salt intake during pregnancy, both for the sake of their own health and that of the baby to come. - See http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/conditions.html and http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/pregnant_mothers.html