Studies on fetal forelimb movements by using a wrist actigraph in sheep.
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an actigraph can be a tool for measuring fetal movements in sheep. Actiwatches were placed on a fetal forelimb and the maternal uterine wall in near-term pregnant sheep. No significant correlation was found between fetal and maternal activity counts for periods of 1 min. The patterns of fetal activity counts were characterized by ultradian rhythms, with bursts of activity every 20-30 min; however, there was no evidence of diurnal changes in fetal activity counts. The results suggest that fetal movements can be measured by using an actigraph in chronically prepared fetal sheep.
Zhang
Shi-Qing
SQ
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The University of Tokyo, Japan. sqzhang-tky@umin.ac.jp
Kozuma
Shiro
S
Tanaka
Mio
M
Ling
Donghui
D
Kitano
Yoshihiro
Y
Fujii
Tomoyuki
T
Baba
Kazunori
K
Taketani
Yuji
Y
D000818:Animals; D004594:Electrophysiology / Q000295:instrumentation; D005260:Female; D005324:Fetal Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D005552:Forelimb / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012756:Sheep; D014953:Wrist