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Abnormal Antepartum Fetal Heart Rate in High Risk Pregnancies with Good Fetal Outcome
Author(s) -
Sadovsky Eliahu,
Reifen Ela,
Reifen Ram,
Ohel Gonen
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
asia‐oceania journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.597
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1447-0756
pISSN - 0389-2328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1447-0756.1988.tb00103.x
Subject(s) - fetal distress , pathological , medicine , fetus , pregnancy , obstetrics , group b , fetal heart rate , high risk pregnancy , incidence (geometry) , gynecology , heart rate , blood pressure , biology , genetics , physics , optics
A consecutive study of 698 pregnant women for the incidence of abnormal fetal heart rate (FHR) in 2 groups of high risk pregnancy (HRP) with good outcome is presented. Group A consisted of 480 cases, with mild high risk pregnancies in whom a low rate of fetal distress was expected, and group B consisted of 218 cases, of a more severe type of high risk pregnancies in whom a higher rate of fetal distress was expected due to possible fetoplacental unit insult. Both groups combined had a 16.8% rate of pathological FHR. In group A the rate of pathological FHR was 12.3% whereas in group B it was 26.6%. This difference was statistically significant. The most common FHR pathology in group A was loss of variability (36.5%). In group B the most common pathology was FHR decelerations (37%). The demonstration of higher rates of abnormal FHR record in the more severe group of HRP, despite the fact that in all cases the outcome was good, may suggest that a pathological pattern even if sporadic, may represent an early sign of fetal distress which cannot be appreciated by using the conventional criteria of outcome in pregnancy.