scholarly journals Effects of Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol and Smoking on Fetal Heart Rate and Movement Regulation

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maristella Lucchini ◽  
Lauren C. Shuffrey ◽  
J. David Nugent ◽  
Nicoló Pini ◽  
Ayesha Sania ◽  
...  

Negative associations of prenatal tobacco and alcohol exposure (PTE and PAE) on birth outcomes and childhood development have been well documented, but less is known about underlying mechanisms. A possible pathway for the adverse fetal outcomes associated with PTE and PAE is the alteration of fetal autonomic nervous system development. This study assessed PTE and PAE effects on measures of fetal autonomic regulation, as quantified by heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (SD-HR), movement, and HR-movement coupling in a population of fetuses at ≥ 34 weeks gestational age. Participants are a subset of the Safe Passage Study, a prospective cohort study that enrolled pregnant women from clinical sites in Cape Town, South Africa, and the Northern Plains region, United States. PAE was defined by six levels: no alcohol, low quit early, high quit early, low continuous, moderate continuous, and high continuous; while PTE by 4 levels: no smoking, quit early, low continuous, and moderate/high continuous. Linear regression analyses of autonomic measures were employed controlling for fetal sex, gestational age at assessment, site, maternal education, household crowding, and depression. Analyses were also stratified by sleep state (1F and 2F) and site (South Africa, N = 4025, Northern Plains, N = 2466). The final sample included 6491 maternal-fetal-dyad assessed in the third trimester [35.21 ± 1.26 (mean ± SD) weeks gestation]. PTE was associated with a decrease in mean HR in state 2F, in a dose dependent fashion, only for fetuses of mothers who continued smoking after the first trimester. In state 1F, there was a significant increase in mean HR in fetuses whose mother quit during the first trimester. This effect was driven by the Norther Plains cohort. PTE was also associated with a significant reduction in fetal movement in the most highly exposed group. In South Africa a significant increase in mean HR both for the high quit early and the high continuous group was observed. In conclusion, this investigation addresses a critical knowledge gap regarding the relationship between PTE and PAE and fetal autonomic regulation. We believe these results can contribute to elucidating mechanisms underlying risk for adverse outcomes.

Author(s):  
Chetana Choudhary ◽  
Lata Rajoria ◽  
Chelsae Kuntal ◽  
Sunita Hemani ◽  
Aditi Bansal ◽  
...  

Introduction: The earliest proof of a viable pregnancy is obtained when cardiac activity of the embryo can be observed. Transvaginal sonography can accurately demonstrate embryonic heart rate at 6 weeks of gestational age by using M-mode transvaginal sonography. Slow embryonic heart rate at 6-7 weeks of gestational age is associated with high rate of first trimester pregnancy loss. AIM:  The study was aimed to evaluate the role of embryonic heart rate (EHR) of early pregnancies as predictive factor of adverse outcome at end of first trimester of pregnancy. Methods: This observational study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Zenana Hospital, SMS Medical College, Jaipur. It included 300 pregnant women between 6 weeks to 9 weeks of gestational age attending antenatal OPD. Embryonic heart rate was measured by transvaginal sonography. Embryonic heart rate was classified as slow, if it was fewer than 110 beats/ mint or outcome was measured as occurance of spontaneous pregnancy loss prior to 12 weeks. Results: Out of 300 cases, 290 (96.67%) had embryonic heart rate ?100 beats per minutes and 10(3.33%) had embryonic heart rate <100 beats per minutes. Out of these 290, (Embryonic heart rate ?100 beats per minutes), 284 (97.93%) had good prognosis and 6 (2.07%) had abortion. In 10 women (Embryonic heart rate <100 beats per minutes), 3 (30.00%) had good prognosis and 7 (70.00%) had abortion. This observation was statistically significant. Conclusion: Slow embryonic heart rate on ultrasonography reduced the success of pregnancy and may lead to abortion. Keywords: Embryonic heart rate, Ultrasonography, Early pregnancy loss


Author(s):  
Hethyshi R.

Background: Fetal heart rate is an indicator of fetal viability. During third trimester and labour the normal range of fetal heart rate is between 110-160 bpm as recommended by the international guidelines. Unlike this, the first trimester embryonic heart rate does not lie in the same range. During the first trimester the normal embryonic heart rate varies between each week of gestation, as determined by a few western studies. Indian studies on the same are not available. Objective of this study was to determine the trend of the fetal heart rate in first trimester of pregnancy in South Indian women.Methods: Transvaginal scan was done in 51 pregnant women with singleton pregnancy attending the antenatal clinic in a medical college hospital. Crown rump length and fetal heart rate were measured and plotted on a graph. Also, the fetal heart rate at different gestational age of our study was compared with the fetal heart rates at the same gestational age from the studies in the western population.Results: The range of fetal heart rate at different weeks of gestation was comparable to the heart rate variations as seen in the western population. The maximum heart rates at 9 weeks of gestation in our study was higher than the heart rate in the western population.Conclusions: Possibility of variation in the fetal heart rates in the first trimester in different populations cannot be ruled out until confirmed by studies with large sample size.


2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rina Pratiwi ◽  
Muhammad Sholeh Kosim ◽  
Noor Wijayahadi

Background Low birth weight (LBW) is closely related to neonatal morbidity and mortality. Management of LBW infants in developing countries remains limited, due to the low availability of incubators. The Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) method has been shown to be effective for newborns, especially LBW infants, in which skin-to-skin contact may be conducive for infants’ weight gain, thermoregulation, and heart rate stability.Objective To determine the prognostic factors for KMC success in LBW babies.Methods This cohort study included LBW infants at Dr. Kariadi General Government Hospital, Semarang, by a consecutive sampling method. Success of KMC was assessed by infant weight gain, as well as stabilization of temperature, heart rate, and respiration. Prognostic factors for KMC success that we assessed were birth weight, gestational age, KMC duration, age at KMC onset and maternal education level. Statistical analyses used were Chi-square and relative risk (RR) tests.Results Of 40 LBW infants, 24 were successful in KMC. Birth weight ≥ 1500 grams (RR 0.4; 95%CI 0.23 to 0.73; P=0.001)], gestational age ≥ 34 weeks (RR 0.94; 95%CI 0.46 to 1.89; P=1.00), KMC duration ≥ 65 minutes (RR 1.44; 95%CI 0.76 to 2.75; P= 0.215), high maternal education level (RR 1.25; 95%CI 0.76 to 2.04; P=0.408), and age at KMC onset >10 days (RR 2.69; 95%CI 1.14 to 6.32; P=0.003), were factors that related to the successful of KMC.Conclusion Age at KMC onset > 10 days was a prognostic factor for KMC success in low birth weight babies.


Med Phoenix ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-37
Author(s):  
Akhilesh Kumar Jha ◽  
Bikranta Rimal ◽  
Tarannum Khatun

Background: Ultrasonography is the reliable and safe way for the evaluation of pregnancy. Heart rate can be detected more confidently from the Ultrasonography. Heart rate is an important parameter for the evaluation of early pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the normal heart rate in embryos/fetuses between 6 and 8 weeks of gestation.Method: In our region people are poor and most of them do not know the benefit of regular follow up examination during pregnancy. So most of pregnant women come to our centre at late stage of pregnancy. The number of pregnancy cases is good in our centre but the number of early pregnancy cases coming to regular follow up examination is low. Thus the study was conducted in 51 normal singleton pregnancies undergoing routine ultrasound examination during the first trimester of pregnancy. The duration of study was 6 weeks.Result: Out of 51 singleton pregnancies, 20 cases (39.2%) heart rate were between 131-150 beat per minute and 25 cases (49.0 %) heart rate were between 151-170 beat per minute. However 4 cases (7.8%) were between 110-120 beat per minute and 2 cases (3.9%) were more than 171 beat per minute. There were zero cases above the 180 beat per minute.Conclusion: The result of this study will help to evaluate abnormal and normal fetal heart rate so that early clinical decision whether to continue the pregnancy or terminate it can be taken, as Ultrasonography is only the method used in screening fetal well being in most of the region of our country.Med Phoenix Vol.2(1) July 2017, 34-37


Author(s):  
A.M. Satarkulova

The assessment and dynamic control over students’ status is a very important task. It allows timely detection of prenosological status prior to pathology and health maintenance in students. The objective of the paper is to assess the adaptive abilities of the body, to analyze changes in heart rate variability indicators in students with various types of autonomic regulation, to identify prenosological status and precursory pathological symptoms. Materials and Methods. The study enrolled 302 students from India, aged 21.54±1.43. Programming complex «Psychophysiologist» was used to register the main HRV parameters within 5 minutes. Health status was evaluated according to the index of functional changes and the scale of functional states. Results. N.I. Shlyk (2009) distinguished two groups of students with different types of autonomic regulation: type 1 (53 %) with moderate and type 2 (5 %) with marked characteristics of central regulation profile, type 3 (35 %) with moderate and type 4 (7 %) with marked characteristics of autonomous regulation profile. Main parameters of HRV and adaptation potential were defined for each student.All the parameters characterized functional and health status. Conclusions. It was shown that 82 % of trial subjects (type 1), 53 % (type 2), 94 % (type 3) and 95 % (type 4) demonstrated satisfactory adaptation and their physiological processes were at an optimal level. 18 % of students (type 1) demonstrated reduced adaptive abilities of the body. Moreover, they were under moderate stress. 47 % of subjects (type 2) were also under a significant stress, which was proven by excessively high SI, low SDNN and TP, and an increased index of functional changes. 5 % of students (type 4) revealed dysfunctional characteristics in the heart rhythm, peculiar to pathology. Keywords: foreign students, heart rate variability, types of autonomic regulation, adaptation potential, functional status. Оценка состояния студентов и динамический контроль за ним является важной задачей, поскольку позволяет своевременно выявлять у студентов донозологические состояния, предшествующие патологии, и способствовать сохранению здоровья. Цель. Оценка адаптивных возможностей организма, анализ изменений показателей вариабельности сердечного ритма у студентов с различными типами вегетативной регуляции, выявление донозологических состояний и ранних признаков патологии. Материалы и методы. В исследовании участвовало 302 студента в возрасте 21,54+1,43 года из Индии. Регистрировались основные параметры ВСР в течение 5 мин с использованием программно-аппаратного комплекса «Психофизиолог». Состояние и уровень здоровья оценивались по индексу функциональных изменений и шкале функциональных состояний. Результаты. По способу, предложенному Н.И. Шлык, выделены группы студентов с различными типами вегетативной регуляции: I (53 %) и II типы (5 %) – с умеренным и выраженным преобладанием центрального контура регуляции соответственно, III (35 %) и IV типы (7 %) – с умеренным и выраженным преобладанием автономного контура регуляции соответственно. У каждого из студентов определены основные параметры ВСР и адаптационного потенциала, характеризующие функциональное состояние и уровень здоровья. Выводы. Показано, что для 82 % обследуемых с I типом, 53 % со II типом, 94 % c III типом и 95 % с IV типом регуляции характерно состояние удовлетворительной адаптации, физиологические процессы сохраняются на оптимальном уровне. В группе студентов I типа у 18 % студентов адаптивные возможности организма снижены, выявлено состояние умеренного напряжения. У 47 % обследуемых II типа также зафиксировано состояние резко выраженного напряжения, индикатором которого является чрезмерно высокое значение SI, низкие величины SDNN и ТP, повышенное значение индекса функциональных изменений. В группе студентов с IV типом у 5 % учащихсяв регуляции ритма сердца выявлены дисфункциональные признаки, характерные для патологии. Ключевые слова: иностранные студенты, вариабельность сердечного ритма, типы вегетативной регуляции, адаптационный потенциал, функциональное состояние.


Cephalalgia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 033310242110292
Author(s):  
Isabella Neri ◽  
Daniela Menichini ◽  
Francesca Monari ◽  
Ludovica Spanò Bascio ◽  
Federico Banchelli ◽  
...  

Objective This study aims to investigate pregnancy and perinatal outcomes in women with tension-type headache, migraine without aura and migraine with aura by comparing them to women without any headache disorders. Study design Prospective cohort study including singleton pregnancies attending the first trimester aneuploidy screening at the University Hospital of Modena, in Northern Italy, between June 2018 and December 2019. Results A total of 515 consecutive women were included and headache disorders were reported in 43.5% of them (224/515). Tension-type headache was diagnosed in 24.3% of the cases, while 14% suffered from migraine without aura and 5.2% from migraine with aura. Birthweight was significantly lower in women affected by migraine with aura respective to other groups, and a significantly higher rate of small for gestational age infants was found in tension-type headache (10.4%) and in migraine with aura (24.9%) groups respective to the others (p < 0.001). Moreover, the admission to the neonatal intensive care unit was significantly higher in all the headache groups (p = 0.012). Multivariate analysis showed that women presenting tension-type headache (OR 4.19, p = 0.004), migraine with aura (OR 5.37, p = 0.02), a uterine artery pulsatility index >90th centile (OR 3.66, p = 0.01), low multiple of the median (MoM) of Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) (OR 0.48, p = 0.05) and high MoM of Inhibin-A (OR 3.24, p = 0.03) at first trimester, are independently associated with the delivery of small for gestational age infants when compared to women without headache disorders. Conclusion Migraine with aura and tension type headache expose women to an increased risk of delivering small for gestational age infants, in association with some utero-placenta markers evaluated at first trimester. These women with headache disorders have an additional indication to undergo first trimester aneuploidy screening and would possibly benefit from specific interventions.


Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 282
Author(s):  
Miguel Pérez-Pereira

Language delay (LD) and its relationship with later language impairment in preterm children is a topic of major concern. Previous studies comparing LD in preterm (PT) and full-term (FT) children were mainly carried out with samples of extremely preterm and very preterm children (sometimes with additional medical problems). Very few of them were longitudinal studies, which is essential to understand developmental relationships between LD and later language impairment. In this study, we compare the prevalence of LD in low-risk preterm children to that of FT children in a longitudinal design ranging from 10 to 60 months of age. We also analyze which variables are related to a higher risk of LD at 22, 30 and 60 months of age. Different language tests were administered to three groups of preterm children of different gestational ages and to one group of full-term children from the ages of 10 to 60 months. ANOVA comparisons between groups and logistic regression analyses to identify possible predictors of language delay at 22, 30 and 60 months of age were performed. The results found indicate that there were practically no differences between gestational age groups. Healthy PT children, therefore, do not have, in general terms, a higher risk of language delay than FT children. Previous language delay and cognitive delay are the strongest and longest-lasting predictors of later language impairment. Other factors, such as a scarce use of gestures at 10 months or male gender, affect early LD at 22 months of age, although their effect disappears as children grow older. Low maternal education appears to have a late effect. Gestational age does not have any significant effect on the appearance of LD.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document