title: Accelerations of the human fetal heart rate at 38 to 40 weeks' gestational age.
abstract: In order to document the normal structure and pattern of fetal heart rate accelerations near term, we measured fetal heart rate and fetal movements for 24-hour observation intervals in 12 healthy pregnant women at 38 to 40 weeks' gestation. There were 34 accelerations per hour on the average with a mean amplitude of 22.8 bpm and a mean duration of 40.7 seconds. The longest time between successive accelerations was 37 minutes. There was a significant negative correlation between the mean daily maximum amplitude of accelerations and the mean daily fetal heart rate (r = -0.84). Fetal heart rate acceleration patterns suggested a prolonged period of fetal wakefulness during the late evening.
mesh_terms: D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005318:Fetal Heart / Q000502:physiology*; D005323:Fetal Monitoring; D005333:Fetus / Q000502:physiology; D005865:Gestational Age; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D009068:Movement; D011247:Pregnancy; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014851:Wakefulness