Comparison of eye gaze between expert and student midwives during fetal head delivery in the second stage of labor : An eye-tracking analysis

Abstract

　This study aimed to compare the eye gaze of expert and student midwives during fetal head delivery in the second stage of labor and clarify its characteristics. Eye-tracking data were collected using a birth simulator with five expert and four student midwives. We analyzed fixation durations and frequencies on the fetal head and the woman's face. Expert midwives spent significantly more time focusing on the fetal head during contractions (p=0.0015) and tended to look more at the woman's face during intervals. In contrast, student midwives showed no clear difference in eye gaze distribution between contractions and intervals. Additionally, expert midwives moved their gaze less frequently and maintained longer fixations. These results suggest that expert midwives allocate visual attention according to labor progression and assess fetal descent accurately. The findings indicate that eye gaze reflects clinical expertise and that eye-tracking technology may be a useful tool in midwifery education.