Abstract
A study was made of the fetal Doppler tachogram with 66 normal pregnancies of 9–21 weeks duration. It was shown that baseline fetal heart rates gradually decreased from 175–180 beats per minute in the 9–10th week to 140–145 beats per minute at 19 weeks and remained constant for the remaining part of gestation that was investigated. At 16 weeks when the baseline frequency reaches the level of 150 beats per minute, beat to beat variations that until that time were not seen (with the method used) become visible. Prior to this phenomenon, from the 14th week on and independent of baseline frequency, de- and accelerations were observed. In a patient with a prolapsed umbilical cord 0.06 mg atropine sulfate was injected into the fetal scalp. Baseline frequency went up and beat to beat variations, until that time visible, could no longer be observed. The decelerations (dips) concomitant with uterine contractions disappeared. These findings are compatible with the assumption that the function of the vagal nerve is related to fetal baseline frequency, beat to beat variation and acceleration and/or deceleration. Fetal vagal function matures during the 11th–21st week of gestation.
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