Fetal heart rate response to a controlled sound stimulus as a measure of fetal well-being.
The fetal heart rate (FHR) response to a controlled sound stimulus of 80 dB was registered in 152 at-risk pregnancies. Thirty-four of the infants showed signs of an intra-uterine pathological condition at birth, whereas 118 infants were clinically unaffected. The mean heart rate response was significantly weaker in the pathological group than in the normal group. A FHR response of less than 15 bpm was found to give a test sensitivity of 53%. The differences between the two groups revealed by the sound stimulation test corresponded to differences in birth weights and in Apgar score after 1 minute. The results indicate that the sound stimulation test is sensitive to minor changes in the condition of the fetus.
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D005260:Female; D005318:Fetal Heart / Q000502:physiology*; D005323:Fetal Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D012306:Risk; D013016:Sound