IJsselland Hospital monitors pregnant women at home with the PregnaOne Platform

Annemarie Kraan is a doctor's assistant at the birth centre of the IJsselland Hospital. She runs the consultation room, which is a kind of emergency room for pregnant women. Midwives and GPs with medical concerns about their pregnant patients can refer them to this department. Kraan is trained to do the initial check-ups, often consisting of a blood pressure measurement, blood tests and a CTG. 

How to make a CTG at home 

For some indications, it is necessary to make CTGs on a regular basis. Since 2021, part of this group, especially women whose baby is not growing well enough and women whose waters have broken early, can opt to make the CTG themselves at home. Kraan explains: "We work with the telemonitoring solution of ICT HCTS. This consists of the Pregnabit Pro CTG device and the PregnaOne Platform for managing patients, devices, and CTG data. Pregnabit Pro is very user-friendly. It's so easy to use that I can explain it to women in ten minutes. They can choose whether they want to use telemonitoring or whether they prefer to come to the hospital. Most choose to make the CTGs themselves at home, because it saves them a lot of time. It's quite a hassle to come to the hospital every day." 

Only under specific conditions 

There are of course some conditions that women must meet to be eligible for telemonitoring. Kraan: "The doctor or midwife determines which patients are suitable for telemonitoring. Usually, when only a CTG is required and no other checks are necessary, telemonitoring is an option. It’s also necessary that women can speak Dutch adequately, because if we see something on the CTG, we call them and we have to be certain that they understand everything we say." 

Time savings 

Although Kraan has the option to watch the streamed data live via the PregnaOne Platform, it’s more common to arrange that patients call after their CTG is finished so the doctor or midwife can then look at the completed CTG as soon as possible. "Very occasionally I watch live, in specific situations. But not as a rule, because it doesn't save me any time. I can't watch a CTG live and meet another patient at the same time. The great thing about telemonitoring is that I am free while the patient is at home making the CTG. I can help more pregnant women this way." 

Less stress and hassle for patients 

Saving time was an important motivation for adopting telemonitoring, but certainly not the only one, Kraan emphasizes. "For us, it is first and foremost about our patients. If you already have a difficult pregnancy and you also have to come to the hospital every day, it can be very stressful. Now women can just sit at home on the couch at a time that suits them and take the CTG. That is so much calmer and better for them." 

Super simple 

Although some patients are initially uneasy about making a CTG themselves, there aren’t many who turn down the opportunity because of the technology, says Kraan. "Women will of course receive clear directions, which they also get in the form of a video and written instructions. Moreover, they’ve usually had CTGs in the hospital already; they already know that it is not difficult to put a band around the abdomen and connect the device. Moreover, they know that they can always call if something doesn't work out." 

Reliable technology 

On average, the IJsselland Hospital monitors about twenty women a year in this way. The system is reliable, working without faults, "we rarely have problems with it." She is therefore a very satisfied user. "It saves time for me and the patient and provides them peace of mind. What more could you want?"