Effects of maternal breathing rate, psychiatric status, and cortisol on fetal heart rate.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Monk C
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3747960 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Effects of maternal breathing rate, psychiatric status, and cortisol on fetal heart rate.
Monk Catherine C Fifer William P WP Myers Michael M MM Bagiella Emilia E Duong Jimmy K JK Chen Ivy S IS Leotti Lauren L Altincatal Arman A
Developmental psychobiology 20101117 3
Women's experiences during pregnancy are predictive of variation in neurobehavioral profiles in their children. Few studies have assessed these relationships during the prenatal period. In 113 women in the 36(th) -38(th) gestational week (mean age 26.3 ± 5.4 years), electrocardiogram, blood pressure, respiration, salivary cortisol, and fetal heart rate (HR) were measured during baseline, a psychological challenge (Stroop color-word matching task), and a standardized paced breathing protocol. Sub ...[more]
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Project description:BackgroundMaternal sleep-disordered breathing is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes and is considered to be deleterious to the developing fetus. Maternal obesity potentiates sleep-disordered breathing, which, in turn, may contribute to the effect of maternal obesity on adverse fetal outcomes. However, only a few empirical studies have evaluated the contemporaneous effects of maternal sleep-disordered breathing events on fetal well-being. These events include apnea and hypopnea with accompanying desaturations in oxyhemoglobin.ObjectiveThis study aimed to reconcile contradictory findings on the associations between maternal apnea or hypopnea events and clinical indicators of fetal compromise. It also sought to broaden the knowledge base by examining the fetal heart rate and heart rate variability before, during, and after episodes of maternal apnea or hypopnea. To accomplish this, we employed overnight polysomnography, the gold standard for ascertaining maternal sleep-disordered breathing, and synchronized it with continuous fetal electrocardiography.Study designA total of 84 pregnant women with obesity (body mass index >30 kg/m2) participated in laboratory-based polysomnography with digitized fetal electrocardiography recordings during or near 36 weeks of gestation. Sleep was recorded, on average, for 7 hours. Decelerations in fetal heart rate were identified. Fetal heart rate and heart rate variability were quantified before, during, and after each apnea or hypopnea event. Event-level intensity (desaturation magnitude, duration, and nadir O2 saturation level) and person-level characteristics based on the full overnight recording (apnea-hypopnea index, mean O2 saturation, and O2 saturation variability) were analyzed as potential moderators using linear mixed effects models.ResultsA total of 2936 sleep-disordered breathing events were identified, distributed among all but 2 participants. On average, participants exhibited 8.7 episodes of apnea or hypopnea per hour (mean desaturation duration, 19.1 seconds; mean O2 saturation nadir, 86.6% per episode); nearly half (n=39) of the participants met the criteria for obstructive sleep apnea. Only 45 of 2936 apnea or hypopnea events were followed by decelerations (1.5%). Conversely, most (n=333, 88%) of the 378 observed decelerations, including the prolonged ones, did not follow an apnea or a hypopnea event. Maternal sleep-disordered breathing burden, body mass index, and fetal sex were unrelated to the number of decelerations. Fetal heart rate variability increased during events of maternal apnea or hypopnea but returned to initial levels soon thereafter. There was a dose-response association between the size of the increase in fetal heart rate variability and the maternal apnea-hypopnea index, event duration, and desaturation depth. Longer desaturations were associated with a decreased likelihood of the variability returning to baseline levels after the event. The mean fetal heart rate did not change during episodes of maternal apnea or hypopnea.ConclusionEpisodes of maternal sleep apnea and hypopnea did not evoke decelerations in the fetal heart rate despite the predisposing risk factors that accompany maternal obesity. The significance of the modest transitory increase in fetal heart rate variability in response to apnea and hypopnea episodes is not clear but may reflect compensatory, delimited autonomic responses to momentarily adverse conditions. This study found no evidence that episodes of maternal sleep-disordered breathing pose an immediate threat, as reflected in fetal heart rate responses, to the near-term fetus.
| S-EPMC10050230 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between birthweight and maternal heart rate (MHR) or heart rate variability (HRV) under resting conditions at 20-24 gestational weeks and 34 weeks or later (34+ weeks).MethodsData were retrospectively reviewed from the Safe Passage Study, a prospective longitudinal cohort study of alcohol use in pregnancy and birth outcomes in Cape Town, South Africa, between August 2007 and January 2015. Using custom-designed software, MHR and indicators of HRV were obtained from the recorded maternal electrocardiograms and compared with birthweight and z-scores of birthweight adjusted for gestation and gender.ResultsData from 5655 women were included. MHR increased from 84.6 bpm at 20-24 weeks to 88.3 bpm at 34+ weeks. Increasing MHR from 70-80 to 80-90 and 90-100 bpm at 20-24 weeks was associated with increasing birthweight from 2940 to 2998 and 3032 g, respectively (P<0.05). MHR and HRV contributed 29% to the variability associated with birthweight, whereas maternal body mass index at recruitment contributed 44%. Similar associations were observed for MHR at 34+ weeks.ConclusionThe observed association of low maternal heart rate with birthweight might help to identify pregnancies at risk of poor fetal growth.
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Project description:Background: Prenatal exposure to serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) antidepressants increases risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes, yet little is known about whether effects are present before birth. In relation to maternal SRI pharmacokinetics, this study investigated chronic and acute effects of prenatal SRI exposure on third-trimester fetal heart rate variability (HRV), while evaluating confounding effects of maternal depressed mood. Methods: At 36-weeks' gestation, cardiotocograph measures of fetal HR and HRV were obtained from 148 pregnant women [four groups: SRI-Depressed (n = 31), SRI-Non-Depressed (n = 18), Depressed (unmedicated; n = 42), and Control (n = 57)] before, and ~5-h after, typical SRI dose. Maternal plasma drug concentrations were quantified at baseline (pre-dose) and four time-points post-dose. Mixed effects modeling investigated group differences between baseline/pre-dose and post-dose fetal HR outcomes. Post hoc analyses investigated sex differences and dose-dependent SRI effects. Results: Maternal SRI plasma concentrations were lowest during the baseline/pre-dose fetal assessment (trough) and increased to a peak at the post-dose assessment; concentration-time curves varied widely between individuals. No group differences in fetal HR or HRV were observed at baseline/pre-dose; however, following maternal SRI dose, short-term HRV decreased in both SRI-exposed fetal groups. In the SRI-Depressed group, these post-dose decreases were displayed by male fetuses, but not females. Further, episodes of high HRV decreased post-dose relative to baseline, but only among SRI-Non-Depressed group fetuses. Higher maternal SRI doses also predicted a greater number of fetal HR decelerations. Fetuses exposed to unmedicated maternal depressed mood did not differ from Controls. Conclusions: Prenatal SRI exposure had acute post-dose effects on fetal HRV in late gestation, which differed depending on maternal mood response to SRI pharmacotherapy. Importantly, fetal SRI effects were sex-specific among mothers with persistent depressive symptoms, as only male fetuses displayed acute HRV decreases. At trough (pre-dose), chronic fetal SRI effects were not identified; however, concurrent changes in maternal SRI plasma levels suggest that fetal drug exposure is inconsistent. Acute SRI-related changes in fetal HRV may reflect a pharmacologic mechanism, a transient impairment in autonomic functioning, or an early adaption to altered serotonergic signaling, which may differ between males and females. Replication is needed to determine significance with postnatal development.
| S-EPMC8415315 | biostudies-literature
Project description:UnlabelledIt has been shown that short-term direct interaction between maternal and fetal heart rates may take place and that this interaction is affected by the rate of maternal respiration. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of maternal aerobic exercise during pregnancy on the occurrence of fetal-maternal heart rate synchronization.MethodsIn 40 pregnant women at the 36th week of gestation, 21 of whom exercised regularly, we acquired 18 min. RR interval time series obtained simultaneously in the mothers and their fetuses from magnetocardiographic recordings. The time series of the two groups were examined with respect to their heart rate variability, the maternal respiratory rate and the presence of synchronization epochs as determined on the basis of synchrograms. Surrogate data were used to assess whether the occurrence of synchronization was due to chance.ResultsIn the original data, we found synchronization occurred less often in pregnancies in which the mothers had exercised regularly. These subjects also displayed higher combined fetal-maternal heart rate variability and lower maternal respiratory rates. Analysis of the surrogate data showed shorter epochs of synchronization and a lack of the phase coordination found between maternal and fetal beat timing in the original data.ConclusionThe results suggest that fetal-maternal heart rate coupling is present but generally weak. Maternal exercise has a damping effect on its occurrence, most likely due to an increase in beat-to-beat differences, higher vagal tone and slower breathing rates.
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Project description:Understanding the complex dynamics of cardio-respiratory coupling sheds light on the underlying mechanisms governing the communication between these two physiological systems. Previous research has predominantly considered the coupling at respiratory rates slower than the heart rate and shown that respiratory oscillations lead to modulation and/or synchronization of the heart rate. Whereas the mechanisms of cardio-respiratory communication are still under discussion, peripheral nervous regulation is considered to be the predominant factor. This work offers a novel experimental design and applies the concept of instantaneous phase to detect cardio-respiratory entrainment at elevated respiration rates, close to the resting heart rate. If such 1:1 entrainment exists, it would suggest direct neuronal communication between the respiration and heart centres in the brain. We have observed 1:1 entrainment in all volunteers, with consistently longer synchronization episodes seen in physically fitter people, and demonstrated that cardio-respiratory synchronization at both low and high respiration rates is associated with a common underlying communication mechanism.
| S-EPMC6367452 | biostudies-literature
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Project description:Few studies of maternal prenatal diet and child development examine micronutrient status in relation to fetal assessment.Twenty-four-hour dietary recall of zinc and folate and 20min of fetal heart rate were collected from 3rd trimester pregnant adolescents.Deficient zinc was associated with less fetal heart rate variability. Deficient folate had no associations with HRV. Neither deficient zinc nor deficient folate was related to fetal heart rate.These findings, from naturalistic observation, are consistent with emerging data on prenatal zinc supplementation using a randomized control design.Taken together, the findings suggest that maternal prenatal zinc intake is an important and novel factor for understanding child ANS development.
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Project description:Contemporaneous associations between circulating maternal organochlorines (OCs) and measures of fetal heart rate and motor activity were evaluated. A panel of 47 OCs, including pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), was analyzed from serum of 50 pregnant women at 36 weeks gestation. Data were empirically reduced into four factors and six individual compounds. All participants had detectable concentrations of at least one-quarter of the assayed OCs and, in general, higher socioeconomic level was associated with higher OC concentrations. Fetal heart rate measures were not consistently associated with maternal OCs. In contrast, one or more indicators of greater fetal motor activity were significantly associated with higher levels of the DDT and low chlorinated OC factors and five of the six individual compounds (heptachlor epoxide, trans nonachlor, oxychlordane, and PCBs 18 and 52). This preliminary demonstration of associations between fetal motor activity and maternal concentrations of persistent and pervasive environmental contaminants suggests that fetal assessment may be useful in ascertaining the potential early effects of these compounds on development.
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Project description:ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to examine associations of mother and infant salivary cortisol, measured three times over the course of a day, and assess whether these varied by breastfeeding status.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of 54 mothers and their infants aged 4-11 months. Mothers collected their own saliva and that of their infants upon awakening, 30min after waking and at bedtime. Breastfeeding status was reported by mothers and cortisol level was measured in saliva in μg/dl using standard techniques. We used generalized linear models to evaluate relationships between maternal and infant cortisol levels, and assessed whether the relationship differed by breastfeeding status: formula only compared to partial and full breastfeeding, adjusting for infant sex, race, age, maternal education, and family income.ResultsThirty-four infants received formula only and 20 were either partially or fully breastfed. Breastfeeding was associated with higher household income, higher maternal education, and white race. Cortisol levels were higher among breastfed infants at all three time points. After adjustment, maternal cortisol levels were related with infant cortisol at bedtime only (regression estimate 0.06; 95% CI: 0.10, 1.1; p=0.02). The adjusted association between bedtime maternal and infant cortisol was stronger among breastfeeding dyads than among formula-feeding dyads (regression estimate 1.0; 95% CI: 0.1, 2.0; p=0.04 vs. 0.6; CI: -0.1, 1.3; p=0.10). In addition, we assessed the influence of maternal education and household income in our adjusted model; income strengthened the observed association, whereas maternal education did not change the estimate.ConclusionsBreastfeeding mothers and infants had significant correlations for cortisol at bedtime, while formula-feeding dyads did not. These data suggest that several factors may contribute to cortisol synchrony observed in mother/infant dyads, including the transfer of cortisol in human milk, physical interaction such as skin-to-skin contact, and shared environment. In addition, our findings support household income as a possible contributor.
| S-EPMC4544873 | biostudies-literature