Abstract
Objective: Changes in the maternal cardiac autonomic nervous system were assessed in the presence and absence of uterine contractions by analyzing maternal heart-rate variability during labor using wavelet-based power spectral analysis. Methods: We assessed the heart-rate variability in 20 pregnant women during labor and in 15 pregnant women with threatened premature labor with the use of wavelet-based power spectral analysis. Results: There was no significant difference in high-frequency components between the uterine contraction and non-contraction periods. The intensities of the low-frequency and very-low-frequency components during uterine contractions were significantly stronger than the corresponding intensities between uterine contractions. Conclusion: Maternal sympathetic activity was upregulated during uterine contractions, and influenced the very-low-frequency components. This method of analysis may represent a novel means of identifying uterine contractions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 35-40 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Gynecologic and Obstetric Investigation |
| Volume | 74 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 Jul |
Keywords
- Heart-rate variability
- Spectral density
- Wavelet-based power spectral analysis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Reproductive Medicine
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology