A method and apparatus for monitoring the condition of a fetus to assess a degree of risk of developing a permanent neurological condition is provided. A signal indicative of a fetal heart is processed to derive a degree of risk of developing a permanent neurological condition. The data indicative of the degree of risk of developing a permanent neurological condition indicates a likelihood that the condition of the fetus belongs to a class in a group of classes, where each class in the group of classes is associated with a pre-defined fetal condition. Data indicative of the degree of risk of developing a permanent neurological condition is then released. In one example, a neural network is used to obtain data indicating the likelihood that the condition of the fetus belongs to a class in the group of classes.