Introduction The intrapartum assessment of fetal well-being remains a challenge to obstetricians, especially given the on-going concern for increasing caesarean section rates and malpractice litigation. Several techniques may be used to evaluate the fetus during labour including direct analysis of fetal blood obtained from via scalp sampling. It is important that when fetal blood sampling (FBS) is performed, clear documentation should be done. At Darlington Memorial Hospital (DMH), a re-audit was performed to assess the documentation on FBS, according to the recommendations stated in the Trust Guidelines.

Aim To determine whether there are any improvements in documentation on FBS compared to previous audit performed in 2010.

Methods A retrospective audit of the 22 cases was performed from 1st July to 30th September 2011 at DMH. Data were collected from the labour ward register, fetal blood sampling record and medical notes.

Results A total of 22 cases were included. Compared to 2010, there was improvement in the documentation of the cord blood being taken at deliveries (91%) and the results stored (100%). However, there are some areas where improvements are needed such as the documentation of consent, reasons for FBS, results, and the documentation of review at 30 minutes post FBS.

Conclusion Despite being indicated in the trust guideline, some of the essential documentations regarding FBS are still missing. Therefore, for these cases any future claims for cerebral palsy would be indefensible. FBS proforma was developed and are used for all FBS cases. This recommendation was subsequently adopted by DMH.