title: Short-term cycles in human fetal activity. I. Normal pregnancies.
abstract: Recordings of fetal motor activity in utero were carried out on 17 women with normal pregnancies at 23 to 37 weeks' gestation. Fetal motility was monitored by a method based on integrative EMG recordings derived through electrodes attached to maternal abdominal surface. Orthogonal spectral analysis revealed 40 minute and 80 minute cycles in fetal motility in 59% of the fetuses. The correlation between objective and subjective (maternal self-assessment) scores of fetal activity was generally confirmed. Methods of monitoring fetal activity, based on short-term recordings, are criticized in the light of the present results.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005323:Fetal Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005333:Fetus / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009068:Movement; D010507:Periodicity; D011247:Pregnancy