Abstract: A cylindrical plug near the end of an insertion tube that is inserted through the mother's cervix to a position near the scalp of the fetus, carries at its forward end a pincers type electrode of fine spring wire which is held open so long as the shoulders of the electrode are confined by the insertion tube. The hooked ends of the electrode seat in notches on the end of the insertion tube so that they may open wide when the device is brought up against the scalp of the fetus. Then a drive tube fitting inside the outer tube keeps the plug from receding when the outer tube is slightly retracted, until the grasping electrode ceases to be confined by the outer tube and closes on a small portion of scalp. Thereafter, the outer tube is retracted further to free the electrode plug, after which both the drive tube and the outer tube may be removed and the electrode and its wire leads left in place to monitor the heartbeat of the fetus.