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FETAL ACTIVITY IN PREGNANCIES COMPLICATED BY MATERNAL DIABETES MELLITUS
Author(s) -
Roberts A. B.,
Stubbs S. M.,
Mooney R.,
Cooper D.,
Brudenell J. M.,
Campbell S.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1980.tb04583.x
Subject(s) - medicine , postprandial , incidence (geometry) , pregnancy , diabetes mellitus , obstetrics , fetus , fetal distress , insulin , endocrinology , biology , genetics , physics , optics
Summary The incidence of fetal breathing movements (FBM), fetal trunk movements (FTM), and total fetal activity (TFA) was assessed in 25 pregnancies complicated by maternal diabetes mellitus; 20 mothers had been juvenile insulin dependent diabetics, 4 were diagnosed during pregnancy (one of whom required insulin) and there was one other who was changed from chlorpropamide to insulin during the first trimester of pregnancy. Thirty‐minute records were made postprandial between 32 and 38 weeks making a total of 161 recordings. There were 15 well‐controlled insulin‐dependent diabetic women with uncomplicated pregnancies; and in this group the mean percentage incidence of FBM was 60±25 (SD) per cent, FTM 16±10 (SD) per cent and TFA 73±22 (SD) per cent. The mean breathing rate per minute was 53±12 and the mean number of movements per 30‐minute period 29±18. The incidences of FBM and TFA were significantly higher than those found in postprandial recordings in normal pregnancies. There was only one recording out of 115 where the incidence of TFA fell below 10 per cent. The mean percentage incidences of FBM, FTM and TFA were similar in the four uncomplicated pregnancies in which diabetes was diagnosed during pregnancy. The mean percentage incidence of TFA was significantly lower in the six pregnancies with obstetric complications, and levels of TFA below 10 per cent correlated well with abnormal cardiotocograph traces or fetal distress in labour.