title: Fetal activity patterns in hypertensive pregnancies.
abstract: This prospective investigation attempts to determine whether the maternal recording of perceived fetal motion is useful for fetal assessment in pregnancies complicated by hypertension. During a 21 month period, 124 patients whose pregnancies were complicated by either chronic or pregnancy-induced hypertension participated. The number of perceived movements per hour (24 +/- 11, mean +/- S.D.) and evidence for fetal inactivity (7 cases, 6%) did not vary significantly from a control group of normotensive pregnancies (p greater than 0.05). Fetal inactivity was predictive of an unfavorable perinatal outcome in 6 of 7 cases, including the three stillborn infants. No perinatal deaths occurred among the 117 hypertensive pregnancies with active fetuses, and the 6 cases with an unfavorable outcome were associated with mild intrauterine growth delay, prematurity, or acute changes such as placental abruption or umbilical cord accidents. Realizing these limitations, a record of fetal inactivity is worthwhile in managing the pregnancy complicated by hypertension.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000209:etiology; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005323:Fetal Monitoring; D005328:Fetal Viability; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000503:physiopathology*