Montevideo units are a method of measuring uterine performance during labor. They were created in 1949 by two physicians, Roberto Caldeyro-Barcia and Hermogenes Alvarez, from Montevideo, Uruguay. They are exactly equal to 1 mmHg within 10 minutes. A standard adequate measurement is 200; this is generally equivalent to 27 kPa of combined pressure change within 10 minutes.
Units are directly equal to pressure change in mmHg summed over a ten-minute window. It is calculated by internally (not externally) measuring peak uterine pressure amplitude (in mmHg), subtracting the resting tone of the contraction, and adding up the numbers in a 10-minute period. Uterine pressure is generally measured through an intrauterine pressure catheter.
Montevideo units can be more simply calculated by summing the individual contraction intensities in a ten-minute period, a process which should arrive at a result identical to the original method of calculation.
Generally, above 200 MVUs is considered necessary for adequate labor during the active phase.
Example.
If, for instance:
55-10 = 45
50-10 = 40
45-10 = 35
65-10 = 55
50-10 = 40
45+40+35+55+40 = 215 MVUs
References.
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