Key result
Gestational age and fetal gender influence fetal heart rate tracings, with irregularity measures decreasing as gestation progresses and lower complexity in male fetuses in early pregnancy.
Why the study?
The influence of gestational age and fetal gender on fetal heart rate tracings was not fully understood.
Observational (n=99)
Fetal age and gender influence fetal heart rate tracings, which should be considered to improve the interpretation of FHR monitoring.
May support adjusting FHR norms for gestational age and fetal gender; hypothesis-generating and requires prospective validation before clinical adoption.
OBJECTIVE: This work aims to investigate the impact of gestational age and fetal gender on fetal heart rate (FHR) tracings. APPROACH: Different linear and nonlinear parameters indicating correlation or complexity were used to study the influence of fetal age and gender on FHR tracings. The signals were recorded from 99 normal pregnant women in a singleton pregnancy at gestational ages from 28 to 40 weeks, before the onset of labor. There were 56 female fetuses and 43 male. MAIN RESULTS: Analysis of FHR shows that the means as well as measures of irregularity of FHR, such as approximate entropy and algorithmic complexity, decrease as gestation progresses. There were also indications that mutual information and multiscale entropy were lower in male fetuses in early pregnancy. SIGNIFICANCE: Fetal age and gender seem to influence FHR tracings. Taking this into consideration would improve the interpretation of FHR monitoring.
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Spyridou et al. (2017) conducted an observational in Normal singleton pregnancy (n=99). Gestational age and fetal gender was evaluated on Linear and nonlinear parameters of fetal heart rate tracings. Gestational age and fetal gender influence fetal heart rate tracings, with irregularity measures decreasing as gestation progresses and lower complexity in male fetuses in early pregnancy.
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