title: Relationship between the duration of fetal breathing movements and gestational age and the development of the central nervous system at 25-32 weeks of gestation in normal pregnancy.
abstract: In 15 pregnant women with normal pregnancy at 25-32 weeks of gestation, fetal breathing movements (FBM), fetal body movements and fetal heart rate were continuously and simultaneously recorded over a total period of 180 min. The frequency of successive FBM with a duration less than 10 s (apnea period greater than 3 s) showed a significant decrease (p less than 0.01), while the frequency of successive FBM with a duration greater than or equal to 30 s showed a significant increase from 25 to 32 weeks of gestation (p less than 0.001). Strong positive correlations were also demonstrated between the frequency of FBM with a duration of greater than or equal to 30 s and the number of fetal heart rate accelerations per hour, acceleration/fetal body movement ratio, and the value of fetal heart rate long-term variability. These results suggest that the length of the duration of successive FBM represents a useful parameter for the analysis of fetal respiratory patterns, and that a prolongation of the duration of successive FBM of an individual fetus is related to the functional development of the central nervous system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Akita University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Higuchi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gotoh
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Otomo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maki
mesh_terms: D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000196:embryology*; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005324:Fetal Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006340:Heart Rate, Fetal / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D012119:Respiration / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors