Intrapartum fetal heart rate and sudden infant death syndrome.
The intrapartum fetal heart rate (FHR) tracings of 20 infants who died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and 20 matched control infants, both drawn from a population at increased obstetrical risk, were compared. This is a blind retrospective study aimed at quantifying (a) the incidence of FHR patterns, (b) the range of FHR and variability levels, and (c) the episodes of variable and late decelerations occurring in conjunction with abnormal FHR levels. Tracings of SIDS infants were similar to those of control infants. Although the three infants with bradycardic FHR levels were restricted to the SIDS group, infants in this group could not be reliably differentiated from control infants on the basis of intrapartum FHR tracings.
D001034:Apgar Score; D001724:Birth Weight; D005260:Female; D005318:Fetal Heart; D005323:Fetal Monitoring; D005865:Gestational Age; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000453:epidemiology*