We report the cases of two patients who had a favorable outcome with aspirin and corticosteroid therapy during pregnancy for chronic villitis of unknown etiology complicated by labor asphyxia and further intrauterine fetal demise in one gravida 3 patient and for chronic intervillositis of unknown etiology diagnosed after three perinatal deaths in another patient (gravida 4). Chronic villitis of...

Changes of free and sulfoconjugated catecholamines were measured radioenzymatically during a 5 minute period of acute asphyxia in chronically instrumented sheep fetuses (n = 5). Due to total reduction of uterine blood flow asphyxia as well as metabolic acidosis developed (pH = 6.94 +/- 0.02; Pco2 = 98 +/- 8 mmHG; lactate = 7.1 +/- 0.3 mmol/l). Peak concentrations of free catecholamines were rea...

Urinary oestrogen assay and serial ultrasonic cephalometry were performed on 284 patients who were considered on clinical grounds to be at risk of having a growth-retarded fetus. It was found that ultrasonic cephalometry was significantly better than oestrogens in diagnosing the small-for-dates baby, but that there was no significant difference between the two methods in predicting perinatal as...

Sympathetic nervous system (SNS)-mediated peripheral vasoconstriction plays a key role in initial maintenance of blood pressure during rapid-onset asphyxia in the mammalian fetus, but it is attenuated after the first few minutes. It is unclear whether the SNS response is sustained during the brief, but frequently repeated, episodes of asphyxia characteristic of labor. In the present study, 14 f...

A distinctive pattern of recurrent rapid falls in fetal heart rate, called decelerations, are commonly associated with uterine contractions during labour. These brief decelerations are mediated by vagal activation. The reflex triggering this vagal response has been variably attributed to a mechanoreceptor response to fetal head compression, to baroreflex activation following increased blood pre...

This study examined the hypothesis that the development of hydrops fetalis after asphyxia in the 0.6 gestation sheep fetus would be associated with activation of the fetal renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Fetuses were randomly assigned to either sham occlusion (n = 7) or to 30 min of asphyxia induced by complete umbilical cord occlusion for 30 min (n = 8). Asphyxia led to severe bradycardia and ...

Five randomized controlled trials have been published on intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring with ST analysis of the fetal electrocardiogram, but the debate on its usefulness has not yet been ended. We consider ST analysis a useful and cost-effective addition to conventional fetal heart rate monitoring. We will provide support for this opinion by discussing the pathophysiology of ST changes...