Interactions between Uterine EMG at Different Sites Investigated Using Wavelet Analysis: Comparison of Pregnancy and Labor Contractions

This paper describes the use of the Morlet wavelet transform to investigate the difference in the time-frequency plane between uterine EMG signals recorded simultaneously on two different sites on women’s abdomen, both during pregnancy and in labor. The methods used are wavelet transform, cross wavelet transform, phase/amplitude correlation, and phase synchronization. We computed the linear relationship and phase synchronization between uterine signals measured during the same contractions at two different sites on data obtained from women during pregnancy and labor. The results show that the Morlet wavelet transform can successfully analyze and quantify the relationship between uterine electrical activities at different sites and could be employed to investigate the evolution of uterine contraction from pregnancy to labor.