title: The predictive value of fetal breathing movement and Bishop score in the diagnosis of "true" preterm labor.
abstract: In 70 patients who were between 32 and 36 weeks' gestation and who complained of painful uterine contractions, real-time ultrasonography was performed to establish the presence or absence of fetal breathing. Ten of the 14 women in whom no fetal breathing movement could be detected were delivered of infants within 48 hours, whereas the pregnancies continued for a week or longer in 52 of the 56 patients in whom fetal breathing was present. There was a good correlation between Bishop score and pregnancy outcome. Of the 48 patients with "unfavorable" cervix (Bishop score less than or equal to 3), 45 were delivered of infants after 1 week or more, whereas of 22 patients with a Bishop score of 4 to 6, nine were delivered of infants within 48 hours and ten pregnancies continued for 1 week or more.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Assaf Harofe Medical Center, Zerifin, Israel.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schreyer
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Caspi
authors.forename: N B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Natan
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tal
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Weinraub
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005323:Fetal Monitoring; D005324:Fetal Movement; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D012127:Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / Q000453:epidemiology; D014463:Ultrasonography