With the rise in surgical births and increase in the number of medically complicated women becoming pregnant, more and more women are undergoing ECG monitoring in Labor and Delivery. The L&D nurse is confronted daily with the sometimes confounding world of rates, rhythms, intervals and waveform morphology. This session simplifies the interpretation of ECG’s. Cardiac physiology and the cardiac cycle are reviewed in relation to the physiologic adaptations of pregnancy. Case studies will integrate labor and birth situations with ECG monitoring, emphasizing appropriate nursing management. Participants are invited to bring copies of patient-blinded ECG ‘strip stumpers’ for group discussion and analysis.