Freedom of movement during labor: five need-to-know insights

  • By Philips
  • June 27 2025
  • 2 min read

A recent article [1] in the midwifery journal, Women and Birth, illuminates women’s experiences of wearing the Avalon beltless fetal monitoring solution, a form of continuous electronic fetal monitoring (CEFM), compared to a wired CTG.

At-a-glance:

  • The Australian study including 15 women was collected via interviews within 12 weeks of them giving birth.
  • It is the first paper exploring women’s experiences of wearing the beltless non-invasive fetal ECG (NIFECG) device during labor.
  • Compared to previous experiences with wired CTG, women felt a greater sense of control when using the beltless non-invasive fetal ECG device.
  • Feeling unrestricted gave them a sense of physical freedom.
pregnant patient wearing Philips Avalon beltless fetal monitor walking with partner

Five take-aways from the article

1. Comfort “is 10 out of 10!”

Women found the beltless NIFECG device very comfortable. Many commented that it was lightweight and easy to apply. Once they got used to it, they would almost forget it was there, enabling them to focus on managing the pain of labor.

2. Bodily autonomy

Many of the women using CEFM were doing so because their pregnancy had been identified as high risk. Being labeled as high risk and experiencing the need for medical intervention, women sometimes felt their choices for labor and birth were diminished. In such circumstances, the capacity for women to move freely and fulfill bodily needs when using the beltless device led to a greater sense of choice and control.

3. Actively participating in labor

In comparison to previous experiences with wired CTG, women felt a greater sense of control when using the beltless NIFECG device. Feeling unrestricted, without being tethered to the machine by wires, gave them a sense of physical freedom, which had a positive psychological impact. When they were able to mobilize, not only did women experience the benefits of pain management, they also felt they were participating more actively in their labor.

4. Poking and prodding

When women were being monitored with CEFM, they were often disrupted by the midwife needing to adjust or reposition the wearable device in order to maintain a good trace of the fetal heart. Disruptive poking and prodding from caregivers occurred ‘frequently’ with CTG and ‘at times’ with the NIFECG device.

5. De-medicalized experience

Without the need for elastic belts, women were able to wear their regular clothes over the top of the NIFECG device. This not only made them feel more comfortable, but it also served to reduce the sense of their labor being a medicalized event.

Study: Australian womens' experiences wearing a non-invasive fetal ECG device during labor

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Footnotes
  1. Coddington R, Scarf V, Fox D. Australian women's experiences of wearing a non-invasive fetal electrocardiography (NIFECG) device during labour. Women Birth. 2023;36(6):546-551. doi: 10.1016/j.wombi.2023.03.005.
Disclaimer
Results are specific to the institution where they were obtained and may not reflect the results achievable at other institutions. Results in other cases may vary.