title: [Automatic measuring of uterine activity in labour. The relationship between this new parameter, fetal cardiac rhythm and the state of the infant at birth].
abstract: In 163 cases uterine activity in labour was measured in 15 minutes periods, thanks to a new monitoring apparatus that works out the sum of the areas of uterine contraction (A U 15). In this way a regular statistical estimation of labour is given in kilopascals x second. The fetal state during labour and at birth is studied as a function of this new parameter. The following important therapeutic consequences can be derived from it: 1) Uterine activity should be damped down when this exceeds 1,500 kilopascals x second over 15 minutes. In fact, fetal cardiac rhythm alterations occur very frequently in these cases during the first stage of labour (55% of cases). 2) In labour it would seem to be worth while, if caesarean operation has not been judged to be necessary, to deliver the baby by instruments (to lessen the length of time of expulsion) when the mean of uterine activity over the 15 minutes (m A U 15) has exceeded 1,500 kilopascals x second, if this has been associated with even the smallest variations of the heart rate during the first stage of labour. In fact, a low apgar score and an acidotic pH occur frequently in these cases.
mesh_terms: D001034:Apgar Score; D005260:Female; D005318:Fetal Heart / Q000502:physiology*; D005323:Fetal Monitoring; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D011247:Pregnancy; D014590:Uterine Contraction
vernacular_title: La mesure automatique de l'activité utérine pendant le travail. Relations entre ce nouveau paramètre, le rythme cardiaque foetal, et l'état de l'enfant à la naissance.