O76Abnormality in fetal heart rate and rhythm complicating labor and delivery

O76 is the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for abnormality in fetal heart rate and rhythm complicating labor and delivery. It belongs to block O60-O77 (complications of labor and delivery) and chapter 15 (pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium). It is billable, so it can be reported on its own for dates of service from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.

Don't report O76 together with the conditions in its Excludes1 note: fetal stress NOS (O77.9), labor and delivery complicated by electrocardiographic evidence of fetal stress (O77.8) and labor and delivery complicated by ultrasonic evidence of fetal stress (O77.8).

The conditions in its Excludes2 note aren't part of O76, but may be coded alongside it if the patient has both: fetal metabolic acidemia (O68) and other fetal stress (O77.0-O77.1).

It is not a CC or MCC, so as a secondary diagnosis it doesn't change the MS-DRG severity level.

In MS-DRG v44.0, it is part of the grouping logic for DRG 998 (Principal Diagnosis Invalid as Discharge Diagnosis), in MDC 14 (Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Puerperium), as a principal or secondary diagnosis. The DRG a claim lands in depends on the principal diagnosis, procedures and any CC/MCC secondary diagnoses.

The Medicare Code Editor treats this as a maternity diagnosis, expected only for patients age 9 through 64.

It is on the CMS list of diagnoses consistent only with female patients (the sex-conflict edit itself was retired in FY2025).

It has been part of ICD-10-CM since the code set took effect on October 1, 2015 and hasn't changed since.

Before ICD-10, this condition was coded in ICD-9-CM as 659.71 (abnormality in fetal heart rate or rhythm, delivered, with or without mention of antepartum condition).