STUDIES ON FETAL MOTOR BEHAVIOR IN NORMAL AND COMPLICATED PREGNANCIES

The possibility of studying fetal motor behaviour by ultrasound techni ques has provoked research on its potential application for assessment of prenatal neurological conditions. The characteristics ('quality') of one particular movement pattern, the 'general movement', has been s hown to be discriminative between uncomplicated pregnancy and major pa thology of the developing central nervous system. Some recent studies have investigated whether the quality and/or the quantity of fetal mov ements correlated with other clinical variables during complicated pre gnancies, and whether they provided prognostic information for the neu rological outcome. Longitudinal research encompassing the pre- and pos tnatal periods was performed on uncomplicated pregnancies and on pregn ancies complicated by intrauterine growth retardation, oligohydramnios (due to premature rupture of the amniotic membranes), or fetal breech position. Although the quantity of both fetal general movements and f etal breathing movements were found to be related to clinical variable s of the fetal condition (such as heart rate variability, heart rate d ecelerations), clinical application seems limited due to large inter- and intra-individual variabilities. In contrast, the quality of fetal general movements appeared highly correlated with parameters of fetal clinical condition in individual cases and fulfilled several prerequis ites for serving as a reliable diagnostic tool for prediction of the f etal condition and for assessment of the integrity of the central nerv ous system.