In this work, we propose an algorithm to extract the fetal heart rate variability from an ECG measured from the mother abdomen. The algorithm consists of two methods: a separation algorithm based on second-order statistics that extracts the desired signal in one shot through the data, and a hearth instantaneous frequency (HIF) estimator. The HIF algorithm is used to extract the mother heart rat...

Objective During labor the fetal head is subjected to pressure related to uterine contractions and maternal pushing. Here we systematically review what is known about fetal head compression and its effects on fetal intracranial pressure, oxygenation, blood flow and cerebral function, and the plausibility that it might cause isolated fetal brain injury. Study Design Systematic review of intrapar...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Viral infection during pregnancy is known to affect the fetal brain. The toll-like receptor (TLR)-3 is a pattern recognition receptor activated by viruses known to elicit adverse fetal neurological outcomes. The P-glycoprotein (P-gp) efflux transporter protects the developing fetus by limiting the transfer of substrates across both the placenta and the fetal blood-brain barrier ...

UNLABELLED Cocaine abuse during pregnancy has been associated with numerous adverse perinatal outcomes. AIMS The present study was to determine whether prenatal cocaine exposure induced apoptosis and the possible role of Bcl-2 family genes in the programming cell death in fetal rat brain. MAIN METHODS Pregnant rats were treated with cocaine subcutaneously (30 & 60 mg/kg/day) from day 15 to ...

Ischemic reperfusion (IR) during the perinatal period is a known causative factor of fetal brain damage. So far, both morphologic and histologic evidence has shown that fetal brain damage can be observed only several hours to days after an IR insult has occurred. Therefore, to prevent fetal brain damage under these circumstances, a more detailed understanding of the underlying molecular mechani...

Recent clinical studies indicate that thyroid hormone plays essential roles in fetal brain development. However, the mechanism by which thyroid hormone affects fetal brain development is poorly studied. We recently identified several genes expressed in the fetal cortex whose abundance is affected by thyroid hormone of maternal origin. However, it is unclear whether these genes are directly regu...

extract when a woman undergoes genetic testing of her fetus, the physiologic and emotional demands are great. careful nursing assessment and support are vital. the main benefit of prenatal genetic diagnosis is that women be given the opportunity to coping with your pregnancy where fetal abnormalities has been diagnosed or achieve  to a complete relaxation with  the positive results obtained . e...