Combined electronic fetal heart rate and fetal movement monitor--a preliminary report.

We have tested a new Doppler ultrasound apparatus which registers both fetal movements and fetal heart rate with a single transducer. To evaluate the reliability of the recognition of movements we also observed them simultaneously by real time ultrasound. In 20 patients with normal pregnancies between the 30th and 42nd week of gestation, taking the real time ultrasound as reference the positive predictive value was 0.93 and the sensitivity 0.94. Maternal hiccups or coughing were recorded as fetal movements. Neither gestational age, the amount of amniotic fluid or the position of the placenta influenced the recognition of movement; nor did fetal breathing, maternal breathing, speaking or laughing.