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Monitoring Maternal Parameters
Other considerations
There are many other factors which can effect BP measurement & refl ect best
practice against national & international guidelines.
Key issues that affect accuracy of BP measurements:
• The patient should be relaxed & rested – minimum 3 minutes before
commencing measurement
• The patient should not smoke, exercise or consume caffeine for 30 minutes
before the test
• The patient should be sitting upright & comfortably with the arm raised to
the level of the heart, suitably supported – it should not be held in position
by the patient
• The patient should not move or speak during the test
• The cuff must be of the correct size & correctly positioned as detailed
above – do NOT rely on the hose as the artery position marker
A conventional sphygmomanometer uses a fundamentally different method of
measuring BP based on auscultation. This is generally recognised as the gold
standard in non-invasive BP measurement and it is recommended that local
protocols are in place for this method to be used for diagnosing/confi rming
hypertension.
7.5.1 Taking BP measurements
Attach the correct size cuff to the mother.
Touch and hold the NIBP region to access the NIBP menu.
You can select either manual mode or automatic mode:
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