Fetal Akinesia Deformation Sequence (FADS) is a condition characterised by decreased fetal movement (fetal akinesia), multiple joint contractures (arthrogryposis), facial anomalies, intrauterine growth restriction, pulmonary hypoplasia and other developmental abnormalities. These disorders are clinically and genetically heterogenous and its etiology remains unclear. This syndrome is rare and th...

While the visuomotor system is known to develop rapidly after birth, studies have observed spontaneous activity in vertebrates in visually excitable cortical areas already before extrinsic stimuli are present. Resting state networks and fetal eye movements were observed independently in utero, but no functional brain activity coupled with visual stimuli could be detected using fetal fMRI. This ...

On the basis of comparison and analogy it can be stated. that in the mature fetus behavioral states comparable to those seen in the newborn infant, i.e. quiet sleep, active sleep and even some kind of wakefulness do exist (1). These states can be identified fairly well from heart rate and motor activity patterns. According to evaluation of 8 hour recordinqs of FHR and fetal movements in the fet...

Decreased fetal movement (DFM) perceived by pregnant women sometimes indicates imminent fetal jeopardy. It is unknown whether this also holds true for twin pregnancy. A 27-year-old primiparous woman with monochorionic diamniotic (MD) pregnancy had a slight difference of amniotic fluid volume at 31(2/7) weeks of gestation. DFM only in one twin at 31(4/7) weeks of gestation prompted her to receiv...

Fetal breathing and body movements were simultaneously evaluated in twin pregnancies in order to determine to what extent these activities occur in a synchroneous pattern in both twin fetuses and if fetal position, presentation or sex have an influence on their behavior. Thirty healthy pairs of twins at 34-37 weeks of gestation were studied. Twenty-six percent of fetal body movements and 49% of...

Delta-brush is the dominant pattern of rapid oscillatory activity (8-25 Hz) in the human cortex during the third trimester of gestation. Here, we studied the relationship between delta-brushes in the somatosensory cortex and spontaneous movements of premature human neonates of 29-31 weeks postconceptional age using a combination of scalp electroencephalography and monitoring of motor activity. ...

UNLABELLED Fetal behavior is defined as any fetal action seen by the mother or fetus diagnosed by objective methods such as cardiotocography (CTG) or ultrasound. Analysis of the dynamics of the fetal behavior with morphological studies has lead to the conclusion that fetal behavior patterns are directly reflecting development and maturation of the central nervous system. The assessment of fetal...

OBJECTIVES Determination of gestational age-related modulations in fetal heart rate and descending aorta blood flow velocity in the early human fetus and comparison of aortic variability data with data obtained from the umbilical artery. It is hypothesized that these modulations present in the umbilical artery also occur in the descending aorta. METHODS Doppler studies of descending aorta vel...

To examine effects of mother's anxiety and depression and associated risk factors during early pregnancy on fetal growth and activity. Repeated measures of mother's anxiety (State-Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S)) and depression (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)) and related socio demographics and substance consumption were obtained at the 1st and 2nd pregnancy trimesters, and fetus' (N = ...

Children cerebral palsy (CCP) encompasses a group of nonprogessive and noninfectious conditions, which cause light, moderate, and severe deviations in neurological development. Diagnosis of CCP is set mostly by the age of 3 years. The fact that a large number of cerebral damage occurs prenatally and the fact that early intervention in cases of neurological damage is successful, prompted some re...