Fetal and neonatal hand movement

Background and Purpose. Fetal movement occurs early in human gestation and can be observed by ultrasound imaging. This was a descriptive study of feta l hand movements from 14 weeks of gestation to postnatal day 1. The purpose of the study was to identify specific hand movements and their development al trends in order to better understand low-risk human development. Subject s. Twenty-one women with low-risk pregnancies were identified from a univer sity obstetrics clinic. Their fetuses or neonates were the focus of this st udy. Methods. Ultrasound imaging was used at 14, 20, 26, 32, and 37 weeks o f gestation, and videotaping was used at 1 day after birth. Between 12 and 16 minutes of usable imaging was obtained at each fetal age, and 24 minutes of videotape was collected neonatally. The duration and frequency of 7 han d movements were deter-mined and reliably scored. Nonparametric analyses we re used. Results. Fetal and neonatal movements did not appear to be random, and they appeared to be directed or aimed at specific targets. Fetal. move ment was variable throughout gestation. Differences occurred between fetal and neonatal data. Durations of certain hand movements provided data that e xhibited some developmental trends, such as decreasing linear trends and re gression-type U curves. Fetal movements to or at the head and face and the observations scored at 32 weeks of gestation were the best predictors of ne onatal movement. Conclusion and Discussion. Results suggest the potential f or fetal movement to be observed and scored reliably, with scores used to f urther our understanding of the development of human movement.