title: Intrapartum fetal vibratory acoustic stimulation during spontaneous and induced states of low activity and low heart rate variability.
abstract: Fetal response to vibratory acoustic stimulation (VAS) was studied in 12 healthy parturients in the active phase of labor. All fetuses were evaluated in both spontaneous and analgesia-induced states of low activity and low cardiac beat-to-beat variability. Analgesia was induced with intravenous maternal administration of meperidine, 0.8 mg/kg, plus a fixed dose of promethazine (25 mg). The vibratory acoustic stimulus was applied ten minutes after the start of a fetal quiet state, and ten minutes of fetal behavior was observed after application of the stimulus. The number and mean duration of fetal body movements in the unmedicated fetuses were statistically significantly higher than in the medicated group. Similarly, the number of fetal heart rate accelerations was significantly higher in the unmedicated fetuses than in the medicated ones. Ten minutes after VAS no fetus in the unmedicated group was in a quiet behavioral state, while 10 of 12 medicated fetuses (83%) returned to a quiet state.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology B, Rambam Medical Center, Technion, Faculty of Medicine, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: E Z
authors.initials: EZ
authors.lastname: Zimmer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vadasz
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Reem
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D006340:Heart Rate, Fetal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D008614:Meperidine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011398:Promethazine / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D008614:Meperidine; D011398:Promethazine