EFFECTS OF MATERNAL ALCOHOL INTAKE ON FRACTAL PROPERTIES IN HUMAN FETAL BREATHING DYNAMICS

Fractal methods have been found to be useful in characterizing biomedi cal signals, The use of fractal estimation requires the estimation of parameter H, which is directly related to the fractal dimension D, Her e, we propose a new approach which is a combination of the wavelet tra nsform and fractal estimators to characterize the human fetal breathin g signals before and after the intake of two glasses of wine by a moth er, This study was performed on 26 fetuses, The variances of the wavel et coefficients were estimated at each scale. The slope of the represe ntation on a logarithmic plot from the scales 5 to 1 was found to be i ncreased after alcohol intake. Our results suggested that fetal breath ing rates have a rough structure before the alcohol intake acid a smoo th structure after alcohol intake.