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Fetal Activity (fetal + activity)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	75%

Selected Abstracts

Fetal cyclic motor activity in diabetic pregnancies: Sensitivity to maternal blood glucose

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2003
Steven S. Robertson
Abstract Spontaneous fetal movement in the last third of human gestation is dominated by irregular oscillations on a scale of minutes (cyclic motility, CM). The core properties of these oscillations are stable during the third trimester of gestation in normal fetuses, but disrupted by poorly controlled maternal diabetes. Here we investigated whether fetal CM is linked to short-term instabilities in maternal glucose metabolism. The fetuses of 40 mothers with type I (n,=,28) or gestational (n,=,12) diabetes were studied one to six times between 27 and 40 postmenstrual weeks of gestation. Fetal movement and maternal blood glucose concentration were measured during two separate periods of fetal activity in each session. Fetal CM was quantified with spectral analysis. Early in the third trimester, changes in the rate of oscillation in fetal CM between the two periods of activity were inversely related to changes in maternal blood glucose levels. Fetal CM was unrelated to concurrent maternal blood glucose levels at any point in the third trimester. The pattern of results suggests that disruption of the temporal organization of spontaneous fetal motor activity in pregnancies complicated by maternal diabetes represents an acute response to fluctuations in the metabolic environment rather than an alteration of CM development. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 42: 9,16, 2003. [source]

Maternal depression and anxiety effects on the human fetus: Preliminary findings and clinical implications,

INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 5 2008
John N.I. Dieter
Newborns of depressed and anxious mothers show biobehavioral abnormalities suggesting that maternal psychological distress has negative effects on the fetus. Two studies examined the fetuses of depressed and nondepressed mothers: (a) a cross-sectional investigation of fetal activity during the second and third trimesters and (b) an examination of behavioral and heart rate response to vibratory stimulation in late-gestation fetuses. Fetuses of depressed mothers were more active during the fifth, sixth, and seventh gestational months. Assessment of late-term fetuses consisted of a baseline, trials of vibratory stimulation directed towards measuring habituation, and a poststimulation period. During baseline, the fetuses of depressed mothers exhibited a lower heart rate. During stimulation trials, they showed less total movement and appeared to habituate more often. Approximately 35% of the variance in fetal behavior was accounted for by the mothers' depression and anxiety symptoms. Maternal depression may be linked to greater fetal activity during the second and third trimesters and decreased behavioral responsivity during late gestation. The response of late-term fetuses of depressed mothers to vibratory stimulation may reflect "receptor adaptation/effector fatigue" and not true habitation. Future studies should examine the value of clinical interventions provided to the pregnant mother. [source]

Eyelid movements in normal human fetuses

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ULTRASOUND, Issue 6 2003
Boris M. Petrikovsky MD
Abstract Purpose We undertook this study to investigate the characteristics of blinking activity in healthy human fetuses. Methods Blinking activity was studied sonographically in healthy fetuses between 33 and 42 weeks' menstrual age. Horizontal and coronal sonographic views of the eye were obtained and videotaped. Fetal blinking movements were analyzed by reviewing the videotape in slow motion. Fetal vibroacoustic stimulation was also used when clinically indicated. Results We examined a total of 18 healthy fetuses. Fetal blinking was detected in 89% of cases, with a mean frequency of 6.2 movements per 60-minute observation period. Vibroacoustic stimulation was associated with increased fetal blinking in the 6 fetuses in which it was applied (mean, 15.3 movements per 60-minute observation period). Conclusions Blinking is a normal fetal activity. The increased frequency of blinking activity associated with vibroacoustic stimulation may be considered a part of the normal startle reflex. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 31:299,301, 2003 [source]