What describes the appearance of artifact in fetal monitoring?

The appearance of artifact in fetal monitoring is characterized by gaps or dots with irregular lines. Artifacts are false patterns that can appear on a fetal heart rate tracing due to interference or noise in the monitoring equipment, maternal movements, or other external factors. This results in irregularities that do not accurately reflect the actual fetal heart rate or the well-being of the fetus. Rather than showing continuous or predictable heart rate changes, the presence of artifact leads to erratic and inconsistent readings, which can complicate the interpretation of the fetal status. Observing gaps or irregular lines helps clinicians identify that the data being presented is not a true representation of the fetal heart activity.