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Background: India's neonatal and perinatal mortality is among the highest in the world. Intrapartum-related conditions contribute to a significant proportion of neonatal deaths and stillbirths. Fetal heart rate monitoring, a recommended norm to assess fetal well-bring, is not practiced as per standard guidelines in public health facilities. A standardized Doppler along with training on fetal heart rate monitoring was implemented across different levels of healthcare in three states. Methods: Facilities were selected purposively to implement the Doppler. Baseline data for 3 months were collected. Interviews of health providers and observation of labor were conducted quarterly. Data were analyzed through a comparison of baseline and intervention on a number of delivery and monitoring indicators. Results: Among 22,579 total deliveries, monitoring frequency increased along with increase in detection of abnormal fetal heart rate (FHR) while cesarean section and stillbirths reduced slightly. Cases never monitored reduced in the District Hospitals (7.98–2.07, P < 0.01) and in Community Health Centers (14.7–1.67, P < 0.001). Stillbirth rate reduced at the medical college (3.6–1.1, P < 0.001). Interviews with providers revealed acceptance of the device due to its reliable readings. Conclusion: The Doppler demonstrates acceptability and serves as a useful aid to improve intrapartum FHR monitoring.

Differences emerged regarding the clinical context in which cCTG was used before labor and whether antepartum cCTG was used only in preterm gestations, only in term gestations or in both preterm and term gestations (Appendix S1). Regarding the cCTG parameters used for management, 75.5% of Italian practitioners used both STV and Dawes-Redman criteria, 23.6% used only STV and 0.9% used other criteria. Among the parameters derived from cCTG, reduced short-term variation (STV) is the best predictor of fetal hypoxemia, acidemia and stillbirth in pregnancies complicated byfetal growth restriction (FGR)[[3], [5]]. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction. Infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms are on the rise in obstetric patients. Chorioamnionitis is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. If caused by multidrug-resistant organisms, chorioamnionitis is associated with high maternal and fetal morbidity. Due to the paucity of the literature and the challenges associated with their diagnosis, the diagnosis is usually delayed. This often leads to delays in management, and hence, adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes are noted. Important Clinical Findings. The patient presented with prelabour rupture of membranes for three days. She developed chorioamnionitis in labour, which was refractory to broad spectrum antibiotics. Persistent tachycardia with variable decelerations followed by prolonged fetal deceleration was observed in cardiotocography. Delivery of baby was done by cesarean section in the view of pathological findings in cardiotocography. The primary diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes. Based on the placental culture results, Amp-C Klebsiella-induced chorioamnionitis was diagnosed. Ertapenem was commenced after the sensitivity results. Good feto-maternal outcomes were observed. The neonate was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit and discharged home in stable condition. Conclusions. Cases of multidrug-resistant organisms-induced chorioamnionitis are rarely reported, though they are associated with maternal morbidity and poor neonatal outcome. In cases of chorioamnionitis, caution should be taken in cases that are refractory to broad-spectrum antibiotics, and multidrug-resistant organisms should be suspected and managed to improve pregnancy outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to study the prenatal monitoring of perinatal pregnant women based on a smart electronic fetal monitoring system. Through the comparative analysis of 230 pregnant women in maternal and child health care hospital who received fetal heart monitoring during the perinatal period and those who did not receive fetal heart monitoring during the perinatal period, cases of fetal distress, neonatal asphyxia, and cesarean section were observed in both groups. Results show that the incidences of fetal complications and cesarean sections in the experimental group were 16.36% and 36.82%, which was significantly higher than 4.50% and 17.50% in the control group(p < 0.05); the neonatal mild and severe asphyxia rates in the experimental group were 3.18% and 1.36%, which were significantly lower than 9.50% and 6.50% in the control group (p < 0.05). The experimental results show that the correct application of fetal heart rate monitoring in the perinatal period can aid in early detection and dealing with fetal distress and reduce the occurrence of various complications such as neonatal asphyxia. It is worthy to be popularized and applied in clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Threatened abortion is assumed clinically when, during the first half of pregnancy, a bloody vaginal leak or bleeding through a closed cervical os occur. Around half of these gestations will terminate, and the risk of abortion is significantly smaller if the cardiac activity of the fetus is detected. Aim and objectives: We aimed to evaluate the role of greyscale and color Doppler ultrasonography in the early detection of threatened abortion. Patients and methods: This study was performed prospectively during the period from December 2018 to May 2019 at Zagazig University Hospital and Zagazig General Hospital. The study was carried out on 60 pregnant women divided into two groups; one group had vaginal bleeding, and the other group had an uncomplicated pregnancy. Results: We detected a statistically significant increase in both uterine artery resistance index (RI) and trophoblastic flow RI; moreover, a statistically significant decrease regarding fetal heart rate (FHR) among Group A compared to Group B was observed (all P<0.001). There was a positive correlation between corpus luteum resistance index (CLRI) and uterine artery RI, between CLRI and trophoblastic flow RI, and between uterine artery RI and trophoblastic flow RI. Moreover, there was a negative correlation between FHR and CLRI, Uterine Artery RI, and trophoblastic flow RI (all P<0.001). Conclusions: Transvaginal color Doppler ultrasound may add new information on RI of both uterine and subtrophoblastic arteries in addition to serial measurements of crown-rump length and FHR if present to allow further evaluation of the early pregnancy outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fetal Cardiography is usually performed using in-hospital Cardiotocographic (CTG) devices to assess fetal wellbeing. New technologies may permit home-based, self-administered examinations. We compared the accuracy, clinical interpretability, and user experience of a patient-administered, wireless, fetal heartbeat monitor (HBM) designed for home use, to CTG. Initially, participants had paired HBM and CTG examinations performed in the clinic. Women then used the HBM unsupervised and rated the experience. Sixty-three women had paired clinic-based HBM and CTG recordings, providing 6982 fetal heart rate measures for point-to-point comparison from 126 min of continuous recording. The accuracy of the HBM was excellent, with limits of agreement (95%) for mean fetal heart rate (FHR) between 0.72 and −1.78 beats per minute. The FHR was detected on all occasions and confirmed to be different from the maternal heart rate. Both methods were equally interpretable by Obstetricians, and had similar signal loss ratios. Thirty-four (100%) women successfully detected the FHR and obtained clinically useful cardiographic data using the device at home unsupervised. They achieved the required length of recording required for non-stress test analysis. The monitor ranked in the 96–100th percentile for usability and learnability. The HBM is as accurate as gold-standard CTG, and provides equivalent clinical information enabling use in non-stress test analyses conducted outside of hospitals. It is usable by expectant mothers with minimal training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we explore the "why?", and "how?", monitoring the pH of the fetal scalp is used, and show its limitations. In addition, we review the development of new devices based on the modern physics and nanomaterials serving this topic. Most of the works we found in our search have focused on improving the prognostic of fetal heart rate monitoring, because it is the "golden standard" in determining fetal distress. Although the best-known screening method, it can only provide limited information about the actual status of the fetus. The best predictive assessment, with the highest reproducibility, states that a normal fetal heart rate is indicative of a healthy baby. However, its excellent sensitivity is much reduced when identifying the actual "distress". This is when second-line monitoring methods come into play to guide the diagnostics and direct the obstetrician towards an action plan. Although a historic method, fetal scalp pH sampling is still under review as to its efficiency and place in the current obstetrics. Continuous surveillance of the fetal parameters is important, especially for the fetuses undergoing intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR). Since fetal scalp blood sampling is still under research and is a randomized controlled trial, which compares the relevance of pH and lactates to the obstetrical situation, the maternal-fetal medicine could greatly benefit from the introduction of engineered nanomedicines to the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Transabdominal electrocardiographic (TAfECG) acquisition of fetal heart rate (FHR) signals has recently been introduced into leading commercial cardiotocographic (CTG) monitors. Continuous wireless transmission of signals has raised the possibility of the technology being used during maternal mobilization in labor. This study aims to evaluate signal quality and accuracy of TAfECG acquisition of FHR signals during static and active maternal positions in labor when compared with Doppler signals and with the gold‐standard method of fetal scalp electrode (FSE). Material and Methods: A total of 76 women with singleton term pregnancies in the active first stage of labor had simultaneously acquired FHR with TAfECG, Doppler, and FSE. Participants were asked to complete a supervised mobilization scheme, comprising five sequential 10‐min periods of lying down, standing, sitting, walking, and rocking on the birthing ball. The three FHR signals were compared, defining signal loss as the percentage of signals under 20 bpm or exceeding 250 bpm and accuracy as the difference with FSE values. Computer analysis was used to quantify variability, accelerations, and decelerations. Static labor positions (lying down, standing, and sitting) were compared with active labor positions (walking and rocking on the birthing ball). Results: Average signal loss was 5.3% with TAfECG (3.2% in static and 7.4% in active positions) and 15.5% with Doppler (8.3% in static and 30.7% in active positions). Average accuracy was 3.5 bpm with TAfECG (1.9 bpm in static and 5.04 bpm in active positions) and 13.9 bpm with Doppler (3.2 bpm in static and 24.7 bpm in active positions). Average variability was similar with TAfECG and FSE in static positions but significantly higher with TAfECG in active positions (23.6 vs. 13.5 bpm, p < 0.001). Conclusions: In static labor positions, TAfECG provides a low signal loss, similar to that obtained with FSE, and a good signal accuracy, so the technique can be considered reliable when the mother is lying down, standing, or sitting. During maternal movement, TAfECG causes an artificial increase in FHR variability, which can cause false reassurance regarding fetal oxygenation. Doppler signals are unreliable during maternal movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Worldwide, cardiotocography is used for continuous monitoring of fetal heart rate (FHR) and uterine contractions during labour. Different methods for FHR registration and registration of contractions are available. Literature about the frequency of use of different fetal monitoring methods is lacking.Objective: To evaluate the use of and preferences for fetal monitoring methods for intrapartum fetal monitoring among Dutch obstetric care providers.Study Design: Between October and November 2020 the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology sent an email invitation to all secondary care midwives and gynaecologists (in training) in the Netherlands to complete an online survey regarding the use and personal experience with fetal monitoring methods. The survey mainly consisted of multiple choice questions. Descriptive statistics are reported. Continuous variables were presented as median with interquartile ranges (IQR). Categorical variables were expressed as numbers with percentages.Results: The response rate was 29 % (n/N = 510/1748). All Dutch hospitals were represented. The respondents estimated the use of fetal scalp electrode (FSE) at 71 % (IQR 58-85 %) of deliveries. The most common indication for use of the FSE was inadequate external FHR registration (94 %). More than half (54 %) of the respondents reported to use intrauterine pressure catheter with an estimated use of 5 % (IQR 2-8 %) of deliveries. The most common indication for use of intrauterine pressure catheter was inadequate external contraction registration (75 %). The use of ST-analysis was reported in 25 % of the respondents with an estimated use of 60 % (IQR 30-72 %) of deliveries. Almost all respondents (99 %) reported to use fetal blood sampling with an estimated use of 15 % (IQR 10-23 %) of deliveries. Ninety percent of respondents would prefer a valid and reliable external monitoring technique during labour. Thirty-one percent of respondents assume that external fetal monitoring with non-invasive fetal electrocardiography and electrohysterography will become standard care within the next 5 years.Conclusions: Currently, the FSE is the most used technique for FHR monitoring during labour in the Netherlands. The most common indication for use of FSE is inadequate external FHR registration. Obstetric care providers would prefer a non-invasive external registration method that provides reliable data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Idiopathic polyhydramnios is a controversial clinical condition, as data on perinatal outcomes are conflicting and vary depending on the severity of the condition. The aim of the present study was to compare obstetric and neonatal outcomes between pregnant women with mild idiopathic polyhydramnios and a control population. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed at a single university hospital comparing the obstetrics and neonatal outcomes of pregnancies with mild idiopathic polyhydramnios (n = 109) and control pregnancies (n = 2550). Results: Cesarean section (CS) was significantly increased in the group with polyhydramnios compared to controls (46% vs. 32%, respectively, p = 0.047) due to a higher rate of emergency CS in the polyhydramnios group (p = 0.041) because of abnormal cardiotocography (7.3% vs. 2.9%; p = 0.018) or labor dystocia (8.2% vs. 2.9%; p = 0.006). No statistically significant difference was found in the Apgar score, in the rate of neonatal hypoxia, or in the incidence of macrosomia between groups. In four cases, additional diagnoses of anomalies were made after birth, with a rate of 3.2%, which is comparable to the general population. Conclusion: Besides an increased risk of CS, patients with mild idiopathic polyhydramnios should be reassured regarding maternal and feto-neonatal outcomes. The management of pregnancies with stable mild idiopathic polyhydramnios should not differ from uncomplicated pregnancies, except for the need for increased labor surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Adherence to intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring (FHRM) for early decision making in high-risk pregnancies remains a global health challenge. COVID-19 has led to disruption of routine intrapartum care in all income settings. This study aims to evaluate the implementation of quality improvement (QI) intervention to improve intrapartum FHRM and birth outcome before and during pandemic. Method and materials: We conducted an observational study among 10,715 pregnant women in a hospital of Nepal, over 25 months. The hospital implemented QI intervention i.e facilitated plan-do-study-act (PDSA) meetings before and during pandemic. We assessed the change in intrapartum FHRM, timely action in high-risk deliveries and fetal outcomes before and during pandemic. Results: The number of facilitated PDSA meetings increased from an average of one PDSA meeting every 2 months before pandemic to an average of one PDSA meeting per month during the pandemic. Monitoring and documentation of intrapartum FHRM at an interval of less than 30 minutes increased from 47% during pre-pandemic to 73.3% during the pandemic (p<0.0001). The median time interval from admission to abnormal heart rate detection decreased from 160 minutes to 70 minutes during the pandemic (p = 0.020). The median time interval from abnormal FHR detection to the time of delivery increased from 122 minutes to 177 minutes during the pandemic (p = 0.019). There was a rise in abnormal FHR detection during the time of admission (1.8% vs 4.7%; p<0.001) and NICU admissions (2.9% vs 6.5%; p<0.0001) during the pandemic. Conclusion: Despite implementation of QI intervention during the pandemic, the constrains in human resource to manage high risk women has led to poorer neonatal outcome. Increasing human resources to manage high risk women will be key to timely action among high-risk women and prevent stillbirth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, fetal heart rate (FHR) decelerations were classified into "early", "late", and "variable" based on their relationship with uterine contractions. So far, three different putative etiologies were taken for granted. Recently, this belief, passed down through generations of birth attendants, has been questioned by physiologists. This narrative review aimed to assess the evidence on pathophysiology behind intrapartum FHR decelerations. This narrative review is based on information sourced from online peer-reviewed articles databases and recommendations from the major scientific societies in the field of obstetrics. Searches were performed in MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus and selection criteria included studies in animals and humans, where the physiology behind FHR decelerations was explored. The greater affinity for oxygen of fetal hemoglobin than the maternal, the unicity of fetal circulation, and the high anaerobic reserve of the myocardium, ensure adequate oxygenation to the fetus, under basal conditions. During acute hypoxic stress the efficiency of these mechanisms are increased because of the peripheral chemoreflex. This reflex, activated at each uterine contraction, is characterized by the simultaneous activation of two neural arms: the parasympathetic arm, which reduces the myocardial consumption of oxygen by decreasing the FHR and the sympathetic component, which promotes an intense peripheric vasoconstriction, thus centralizing the fetal blood volume. This review summarizes the evidence supporting the hypoxic origin of FHR decelerations, therefore archiving the historical belief that FHR decelerations have different etiologies, according to their shape and relationship with uterine contractions. The present review suggests that it is time to welcome the new scientific evidence and to update the CTG classification systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essential role played by cardiotocography (CTG), is promptly detecting non-reassuring foetal status during delivery, as these abnormal changes are a prime reason for women to undergo a caesarean section. But all abnormal changes in cardiotocography does not lead to poor outcome in terms of liquor that was meconium stained or a low APGAR score at birth. As a result, research is the need of the hour, to understand their correlation; hence, showing the benefit of CTG in the precise detection of non-reassuring foetal status is correlated from the intraoperative findings discovered later. This review article aimed to see if there was a link between perioperative findings and foetal consequences in women who had a caesarean section due to foetal condition, which was not reassuring according to cardiotocographic findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our aim was to evaluate the intra- and inter-operator agreement in cardiotocography (CTG) traces analysis using the 2015 FIGO classification guidelines, and whether the educational background and the knowledge of anamnestic data can influence the interpretation of CTG traces. A retrospective interpretation of 73 intrapartum CTGs at time 0 (T0) for a first blind interpretation and at time 1 (T1) two months later with additional anamnestic pregnancy information was made by eight different operators (four obstetricians and four midwives with different years of work experience). The intra-observer agreement demonstrates that midwifes are more concordant than obstetricians with a mean of 77.05% versus a mean of 65.75%. There is moderate inter-observer agreement in classifying a CTG trace as 'normal'; on the contrary, there is no consensus on the 'suspect' and 'pathological' classification category. What is already known on this subject? Interpretation of intrapartum CTG is affected by significant subjective variables with relevant intra- and inter-observer lack of optimal agreement, especially in case of abnormal o pathologic findings. What do the results of this study add? Clinical data seem to play a role in interpretation of suspicious and pathological traces while they do not affect the rate of agreement for normal traces. Midwives tend to be less influenced by anamnestic data in visual CTG interpretation. Instead, obstetricians tend to be more focussed on clinical data and clinical setting that, as a consequence, tend to have great impact on CTG trace interpretation. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Cooperation among obstetricians and between obstetricians and midwives should be encouraged in order to optimise CTG reading and improve maternal and neonatal outcomes. Regarding the influence of clinical parameters in classification of intrapartum CTG traces, especially in case of abnormal CTG traces, it should be conceivable to improve medical skills in CTG blind interpretation and further investigate which clinical parameters are mainly related with an augmented risk of foetal asphyxia and adverse neonatal outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amalgamation of the Internet of medical things with artificial intelligence shows tremendous benefits in health care. Accurate detection of the fetal QRS complex is highly demanded in fetal heart rate monitoring. Detecting fetal heart rate using electrophysiological signals obtained from abdominal electrodes seems a promising alternative approach. The challenges in determining fetal heart rate from abdominal ECG (AECG) require eliminating maternal components and other noises from the signal at higher accuracy. We propose a novel approach using an IoT-based deep learning architecture to detect fetal QRS complex without eliminating the maternal components in the abdominal ECG. The novelty of the proposed algorithm is twofold: (1) The method uses the time–frequency image (TFI) of abdominal signals as input to the deep neural network and hence promotes the availability of rich features and improves the accurate detection of the fetal QRS complex. (2) The algorithm adapts pre-trained models based on transfer learning for the classification task and thus improves the fetal QRS detection. Two time–frequency approaches, namely Hilbert Huang Transform (HHT) and Stockwell transform (ST), are used to represent input AECG signals as two-dimensional images. The 2013 challenge database is used to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach. The TFI representations of training data using HHT and ST are independently used to train the pre-trained models MobileNet and ResNet18. A comparative analysis is provided in the results between the TFI and deep network architecture. The proposed solution can be suitable for an IoT environment enabling remote fetal monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delivering safe clinical trials of novel therapeutics is central to enable pregnant women and their babies to access medicines for better outcomes. This review describes clinical monitoring of fetal well‐being and safety. Current pregnancy surveillance includes regular antenatal checks of blood pressure and urine for signs of gestational hypertension. Fetal and placental development is assessed routinely using the first‐trimester "dating" and mid‐trimester "anomaly" ultrasound scans, but the detection of fetal anomalies can continue throughout pregnancy using targeted sonography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Serial sonography can be used to assess fetal size, well‐being, and placental function. Carefully defined reproducible imaging parameters, such as the head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC), and femur length (FL), are combined to calculate an estimate of the fetal weight. Doppler analysis of maternal uterine blood flow predicts placental insufficiency, which is associated with poor fetal growth. Fetal doppler analysis can indicate circulatory decompensation and fetal hypoxia, requiring delivery to be expedited. Novel ways to assess fetal well‐being and placental function using MRI, computerized cardiotocography (CTG), serum circulating fetoplacental proteins, and mRNA may improve the assessment of the safety and efficacy of maternal and fetal interventions. Progress has been made in how to define and grade clinical trial safety in pregnant women, the fetus, and neonate. A new system for improved safety monitoring for clinical trials in pregnancy, Maternal and Fetal Adverse Event Terminology (MFAET), describes 12 maternal and 18 fetal adverse event (AE) definitions and severity grading criteria developed through an international modified Delphi consensus process. This fills a vital gap in maternal and fetal translational medicine research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on study conducted to compare intrapartum cardiotocography (CTG) in fetuses with Congenital heart defects (CHD) and normal fetuses. Topics discussed include using cardiotocography (CTG) with computer assessment of fetal heart rate for fetal monitoring during pregnancy; methodology used in study using sample collected from Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Warsaw, and St. Sophie Specialist Hospital, Warsaw, Poland; and result of the study.

Objective: To assess perinatal outcomes for pregnancies affected by suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.Methods: Prospective, web-based registry. Pregnant women were invited to participate if they had suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between 1st January 2020 and 31st March 2021 to assess the impact of infection on maternal and perinatal outcomes including miscarriage, stillbirth, fetal growth restriction, pre-term birth and transmission to the infant.Results: Between April 2020 and March 2021, the study recruited 8239 participants who had suspected or confirmed SARs-CoV-2 infection episodes in pregnancy between January 2020 and March 2021. Maternal death affected 14/8197 (0.2%) participants, 176/8187 (2.2%) of participants required ventilatory support. Pre-eclampsia affected 389/8189 (4.8%) participants, eclampsia was reported in 40/ 8024 (0.5%) of all participants. Stillbirth affected 35/8187 (0.4 %) participants. In participants delivering within 2 weeks of delivery 21/2686 (0.8 %) were affected by stillbirth compared with 8/4596 (0.2 %) delivering ≥ 2 weeks after infection (95 % CI 0.3-1.0). SGA affected 744/7696 (9.3 %) of livebirths, FGR affected 360/8175 (4.4 %) of all pregnancies. Pre-term birth occurred in 922/8066 (11.5%), the majority of these were indicated pre-term births, 220/7987 (2.8%) participants experienced spontaneous pre-term births. Early neonatal deaths affected 11/8050 livebirths. Of all neonates, 80/7993 (1.0%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.Conclusions: Infection was associated with indicated pre-term birth, most commonly for fetal compromise. The overall proportions of women affected by SGA and FGR were not higher than expected, however there was the proportion affected by stillbirth in participants delivering within 2 weeks of infection was significantly higher than those delivering ≥ 2 weeks after infection. We suggest that clinicians' threshold for delivery should be low if there are concerns with fetal movements or fetal heart rate monitoring in the time around infection. The proportion affected by pre-eclampsia amongst participants was not higher than would be expected, although we report a higher than expected proportion affected by eclampsia. There appears to be no effect on birthweight or congenital malformations in women affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy and neonatal infection is uncommon. This study reflects a population with a range of infection severity for SARS-COV-2 in pregnancy, generalisable to whole obstetric populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Umbilical cord hematoma and uterine torsion are extremely rare complications in pregnancy. However, these should not be neglected in clinical practice in condition of abnormal fetal heart monitoring without others suspects. We hereby report rare case of umbilical cord hematoma and uterine torsion as well as review the literature. Through this report, we aim to mention on an available tool to investigate spontaneous umbilical cord hematoma on fetal well-being in such a case. Case report: A women aged 35 years old (G1P0) admitted to our hospital for term gestation with uncomplicated pregnancy, except large uterine fibroid accompanied with cervical pessary. Then, an uncommon complication of umbilical cord hematoma was revealed accidentally upon cesarean section. Particularly, this dramatic event was happened along with an asymptomatic uterine torsion noticed at the same time. Preoperative diagnosis of two rare complications was missed, hence, we extracted timely baby based on another modality of management, computerized cardiotocography. Conclusion: Umbilical cord hematoma along with uterine torsion is difficult to diagnosis due to its rarity. Moreover, no available tool could investigate umbilical cord hematoma prior to delivery. Surveillance on fetal heart rate monitoring may be helpful in this situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective: to prove the clinical effectiveness of preconception preparation of the women with a history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) after pre-gravid training before assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles. Materials and methods. 115 women received the suggested pre-gravid training, of which 56 women became pregnant after ART programme and were included in the 1st group and received medical and preventive measures offered by us; 132 women after standard pre-gravid training, of which 55 women became pregnant after ART program and were included in the II group and received generally accepted medical and preventive measures. A clinical analysis of the pregnancy course, childbirth and the condition of newborn children was conducted in 111 women (I and II groups). All patients in the I and II groups had STIs in medical history. Statistical processing of research results was carried out using standard programs “Microsoft Excel 5.0” and “Statistica 8.0”. Results. The rate of threat of pregnancy interruption was significantly lower in the I group – 6 (10.7 %) patients than in the II group – 19 (34.5 %; p<0.001); missed abortion was determined in 3 (5.3 %) cases in the I group versus 6 (10.9%) cases in the II group; spontaneous pregnancy interruption in the I trimester was in 2 (7.1 %) patients in the I group versus 4 (7.3%) women in the II group. Pregnancy was terminated in 5 (8.9 %) pregnant women in the I group and 10 (18.2 %) – in the II group (p<0.05). The threat of late abortion in women in the I group was found significantly less than in patients in the II group – 4 (7.8 %) versus 12 (26. 7%) persons, respectively (p<0.05). Fetal growth retardation (FGR) was diagnosed significantly less in the pregnant women of the I group than in pregnant women of the II group, – 11 (21.6 %) versus 17 (37.8 %) individuals, respectively (p<0.05). The results of cardiotocography (CTG) demonstrated that the satisfactory fetal state was determined in 40 (78.4 %) pregnant women in the I group, which is statistically significantly more than in the II group – 23 (51.1 %; p<0.05) cases. Doubtful non-stress test data were found in the I group more less – 10 (19.6 %) patients versus 15 (33.3 %) cases the II group (p<0.05). Pathological data of CTG were registered in 1 (2.0 %) pregnant women in the I group versus 7 (15.6%) cases in the II group (p<0.05). The risk of fetal distress in the pregnant women in the I group was 13.9 % (95 % CI 7.8- 20.0), RR=0.5 (95% CI 0.16-0.66; p=0.002), which confirms the effect of the pre-gravid complex of medical and preventive measures on the fetal distress reducing in the pregnant women of the I group. Premature births were observed significantly less in patients in the I group, than in the II group, which amounted to 6 (11.7 %) versus 12 (26. 7 %) persons (p<0.05). The condition of newborns in the I group was satisfactory in 49 (85.9 %) cases, and the total level of children born with asphyxia in the I group decreased by 2.5 times (p<0.05). Conclusions. Pathogenetically based pre-gravid preparation and therapy proved to be effective for the onset of pregnancy after ART method and positive pregnancy outcomes in 48.6 % of the women; it reduced the reproductive losses by 2 times, the threat of abortion by 3.2 times, the threat of premature birth by 1.6 times, preeclampsia and fetal growth retardation by 1.5 times, and fetal distress during delivery by 2.2 times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is a major cause of stillbirth, prematurity and impaired neurodevelopment. Its etiology is multifactorial, but many cases are related to impaired placental development and dysfunction, with reduced nutrient and oxygen supply. The fetus has a remarkable ability to respond to hypoxic challenges and mounts protective adaptations to match growth to reduced nutrient availability. However, with progressive placental dysfunction, chronic hypoxia may progress to a level where fetus can no longer adapt, or there may be superimposed acute hypoxic events. Improving detection and effective monitoring of progression is critical for the management of complicated pregnancies to balance the risk of worsening fetal oxygen deprivation in utero, against the consequences of iatrogenic preterm birth. Current surveillance modalities include frequent fetal Doppler ultrasound, and fetal heart rate monitoring. However, nearly half of FGR cases are not detected in utero, and conventional surveillance does not prevent a high proportion of stillbirths. We review diagnostic challenges and limitations in current screening and monitoring practices and discuss potential ways to better identify FGR, and, critically, to identify the "tipping point" when a chronically hypoxic fetus is at risk of progressive acidosis and stillbirth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Thyroid hormone is required for normal fetal brain development, neuronal proliferation, migration and structural organization. We aimed to investigate fetal cardiac structure in fetuses of hypothyroid pregnant women receiving thyroid hormone replacement therapy and to compare it with normal pregnancies, including fetal outcome and delivery results. Methods: Singleton pregnant women whose ages were between 18-45 years and weeks of gestation were between 26-34 were included in the study. Their routine laboratory test reports, ultrasonographic measurements (fetal echo) and postnatal follow-up data were recorded. Patients were grouped according to the presence of diagnosis of hypothyroidism. The patients with hypothyroidism during pregnancy were included in Group 1 while healthy pregnancies with similar features were considered as controls and included in Group 2. All women with hypothyroidism were taking thyroid hormone replacement. All ultrasonographic and laboratory data measurements were collected from the system files and were compared between groups. Results: A total of 89 patients (41 hypothyroidism and 48 controls) were recruited to the study. Serum TSH levels of patients with hypothyroidism (Group 1) was significantly higher than the controls. In fetal cardiac examination, left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) wall thicknesses, and interventricular septum thicknesses at the end of systole and diastole were not statistically significant in both groups. Apgar scores, fetal gender and mean fetal birth weight were all similar between the groups. Conclusion: There is no myocardial structural difference in fetuses of pregnant women who were diagnosed with hypothyroidism and received thyroid hormone replacement therapy compared to healthy controls. Thyroid replacement therapy in hypothyroid mothers might affect and treat fetal cardiac abnormalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous utero-placental circulation, and patent umbilical blood vessels ensure an uninterrupted transfer of oxygen and nutrients to the fetus as well as clearance of metabolic waste products. The onset of labour characterized by progressive and strong uterine contractions poses a threat to fetal oxygenation as a result of collapsing the spiral arterioles traversing the myometrium to supply the placental bed, and repetitive compression of the blood vessels within the umbilical cord. Human fetuses are equipped with compensatory mechanisms to cope with transient interruptions of blood supply during labour. The ability to compensate may be blunted in cases of poor fetal reserves, increased metabolic demand (macrosomia or maternal fever), and due to non-hypoxic pathways (e.g. chorioamniontis or fetal hypovolumia-hypotension syndrome). Intrapartum fetal surveillance involves prompt recognition of the features that signal the onset of fetal decompensation on the cardiotocograph (CTG) to ensure a timely intervention to avoid hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) or perinatal deaths. This article summarises a 'physiological approach' to the interpretation of the CTG which, in places, conflicts with other current UK guidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiotocography (CTG) applicability to improve fetal outcomes remains controversial. This study aimed to determine the clinically optimal CTG assessment duration using the integrated score index to predict fetal acidemia by intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring (iPREFACE score). This single-center, retrospective observational study included 325 normal full-term singleton vaginal deliveries at the Toho University Omori Medical Center, from September 2018 to March 2019. The iPREFACE(10), iPREFACE(30), and iPREFACE(60) scores were calculated at 10, 30, and 60 min immediately before delivery. The primary outcome was fetal acidemia (umbilical artery blood pH < 7.2). The secondary outcome was the correlation between all iPREFACE scores and the umbilical artery blood pH, base excess (BE), and lactate values. Patients without accurate CTG findings or with failure of umbilical artery blood sampling immediately after birth were excluded, leaving 145 patients in the final analysis. Of these, 16, three, and two had umbilical artery blood pH of < 7.2, < 7.1, and < 7.0, respectively. All iPREFACE scores significantly correlated with umbilical artery blood pH, BE, and lactate values. iPREFACE(30) had the highest predictive capacity for fetal acidemia, suggesting that 30 min immediately before delivery may be a useful scoring time in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work is devoted to the problems of one of the most common screening examinations used in medical practice: fetal cardiotocography (CTG). The technology of ultrasonic monitoring of fetal heart rate (HR) variations has been used for more than 70 years. During this time, it has undergone many upgrades and has been characterized several times as a hopelessly outdated routine technology. Over the past 5–7 years, many in-depth studies and review papers on cardiotocography have appeared, which revealed both the problems and prospects of the technology. Basically, hopes are associated with artificial intelligence, which should increase the accuracy of the analysis of initially inaccurate measurements obtained using ultrasonic testing. At the same time, after the introduction of pulsed operating modes and the appearance of multi-chip sensors, the quality of the original signal remains practically unchanged. This circumstance makes the prospects of the technology very problematic. However, until now, there has not been a reliable replacement for this screening, which is equally safe, non-invasive, and accessible to a wide range of specialists, medical institutions, and patients. The paper discusses and substantiates proposals for improving the technology based on original (different from traditional CTG) methods of processing information received from ultrasonic sensors, which, in the author's opinion, allow for solving the main problems of CTG: identifying the correct direction of radiation to the fetal heart and to reliably evaluate beat-to-beat heart rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective  Human cases of acute profound hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury (HII), in which the insult duration timed with precision had been identified, remains rare, and there is often uncertainty of the prior state of fetal health. Study Design  A retrospective analysis of 10 medicolegal cases of neonatal encephalopathy-cerebral palsy survivors who sustained intrapartum HI basal ganglia-thalamic (BGT) pattern injury in the absence of an obstetric sentinel event. Results  Cardiotocography (CTG) admission status was reassuring in six and suspicious in four of the cases. The median time from assessment by admission CTG or auscultation to birth was 687.5 minutes (interquartile range [IQR]: 373.5–817.5 minutes), while the median time interval between first pathological CTG and delivery of the infant was 179 minutes (IQR: 137–199.25 minutes). The mode of delivery in the majority of infants (60%) was by unassisted vaginal birth; four were delivered by delayed caesarean section. The median (IQR) interval between the decision to perform a caesarean section and delivery was 169 minutes (range: 124–192.5 minutes). Conclusion  The study shows that if a nonreassuring fetal status develops during labor and is prolonged, a BGT pattern HI injury may result, in the absence of a perinatal sentinel event. Intrapartum BGT pattern injury and radiologically termed "acute profound HI brain injury" are not necessarily synonymous. A visualized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pattern should preferably solely reflect the patterns description and severity, rather than a causative mechanism of injury. Key Points BGT HI injury pattern on MRI may develop in the absence of a perinatal sentinel event. BGT pattern injury may not be synonymous with "acute profound HI brain injury." MRI pattern and severity thereof should be described rather than a causative mechanism of injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although various perinatal outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pregnancies have been reported, the fetal and neonatal consequences of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection remain unclear. Several reports of miscarriages and stillbirths have been recorded, but vertical transmission by SARS‐CoV‐2 is considered very rare, and the cause remains unknown. We report a case of a 22‐year‐old uncomplicated Japanese woman infected with SARS‐CoV‐2 during the second trimester, resulting in intrauterine fetal death due to placental insufficiency associated with COVID‐19 placentitis. This report emphasizes the importance of longitudinal assessment of fetal well‐being by fetal heart rate monitoring and early detection of maternal coagulation dysfunction representing SARS‐CoV‐2 inflammation to manage COVID‐19 in pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: India's neonatal and perinatal mortality is among the highest in the world. Intrapartum-related conditions contribute to a significant proportion of neonatal deaths and stillbirths. Fetal heart rate monitoring, a recommended norm to assess fetal well-bring, is not practiced as per standard guidelines in public health facilities. A standardized Doppler along with training on fetal heart rate monitoring was implemented across different levels of healthcare in three states. Methods: Facilities were selected purposively to implement the Doppler. Baseline data for 3 months were collected. Interviews of health providers and observation of labor were conducted quarterly. Data were analyzed through a comparison of baseline and intervention on a number of delivery and monitoring indicators. Results: Among 22,579 total deliveries, monitoring frequency increased along with increase in detection of abnormal fetal heart rate (FHR) while cesarean section and stillbirths reduced slightly. Cases never monitored reduced in the District Hospitals (7.98–2.07, P < 0.01) and in Community Health Centers (14.7–1.67, P < 0.001). Stillbirth rate reduced at the medical college (3.6–1.1, P < 0.001). Interviews with providers revealed acceptance of the device due to its reliable readings. Conclusion: The Doppler demonstrates acceptability and serves as a useful aid to improve intrapartum FHR monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Queensland introduced a colour‐coded cardiotocograph (CTG) classification system (green, blue, yellow and red) to complement the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists prose‐based classification system of 'low, unlikely, maybe or likely' fetal compromise. Aims: The aim of the study was to determine the clinical impact of the introduction of the colour‐coded CTG classification system compared to the prose‐based system. We hypothesised there would be no change in the rate of operative delivery for intrapartum fetal compromise (OD‐IFC). Materials and methods: This retrospective non‐inferiority study from November 2014 to May 2018 used routinely collected data from the Mater Mother's Hospital. Non‐insured women with a singleton, non‐anomalous, cephalic fetus at term, attempting a vaginal birth with continuous intrapartum CTG were included. The primary outcome was OD‐IFC. Secondary outcomes included various obstetric and perinatal outcomes. Non‐inferiority analysis was performed with a pre‐specified non‐inferiority margin of 2% risk difference. Results: Eleven thousand seven hundred and twenty‐seven participants were included. The OD‐IFC rate was similar across the study groups (prose‐based 15.1% vs colour‐coded 15.3%, adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.02, 95% CI 0.93–1.13) with the adjusted risk difference of 0.29% (95% CI −0.98 to 1.56), which did not exceed the inferiority margin. There were more spontaneous (aOR 1.11, 95% CI 1.04–1.19) and fewer instrumental (aOR 0.87, 95% CI 0.80–0.95) vaginal births in the colour‐coded cohort. There were no differences in neonatal outcomes. Conclusions: Reassuringly, the colour‐coded CTG classification system was non‐inferior to the prose‐based system, did not influence OD‐IFC but was associated with more spontaneous vaginal deliveries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe the accuracy of intrapartum fetal heart rate abnormalities as defined by National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidelines to predict moderate-severe neonatal encephalopathy of apparent hypoxic-ischemic etiology.Study Design: A case-control study of HIE risk factors was conducted. Eligible babies were born in a single maternity hospital in Dublin, Ireland between September 2006, and November 2017 at ≥35 + 0 weeks' gestational age. Cases were eligible babies with moderate-severe neonatal encephalopathy of definite or apparent hypoxic-ischemic etiology. Controls were eligible babies born before and after each case with normal Apgar scores. The included subjects who had intrapartum fetal heart rate recordings were identified. Pattern features (baseline rate, variability, accelerations, decelerations [early, late, variable, prolonged], bradycardia, sinusoidal pattern) were manually identified blind to all clinical details by one of the authors. Each 15-minute segment was then algorithmically categorized (uninterpretable, normal, suspicious, pathological).Results: Of 88 cases and 176 controls, 71 cases (81%) and 146 controls (83%) were admitted to the delivery suite in labor. From that group, intrapartum FHR traces longer than 15 min were available for 52 (73%) cases and 118 (83%) controls. The FHR pattern feature with the largest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was the maximum number of consecutive segments in which the baseline was >160 bpm (0.71 [95% confidence interval: 0.62-0.80]). The category variable with the highest area under the curve was the number of suspicious segments (0.76 [95% confidence interval: 0.67-0.84]). A tri-variate logistic regression model incorporating the total number of segments, the number of "suspicious" segments classed, and the number of "pathological" segments achieved an area under the curve of 0.78 (95% confidence interval: 0.70-0.86). With 95% specificity, this model correctly identified 17 cases (33%) at a median time before delivery of 2 h and 18 min (interquartile range: 01:19-04:40).Conclusions: The power of fetal heart rate analysis to predict neonatal encephalopathy is hampered by poor specificity given the rarity of the outcome. When analyzing a suspicious trace, it is beneficial to consider the overall duration of the suspicious pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cardiotocography (CTG) is first-line investigation for antepartum and intrapartum fetal assessment. Fetal monitoring during labor helps identifying fetuses at risk of hypoxic damage and helps institute appropriate intervention to optimize perinatal outcome and prevent neurological injuries. Aims and Objectives: The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of CTG on neonatal outcome and levels of obstetric intervention in term pregnancy admitted in labor. Materials and Methods: The prospective study was conducted in Bankura Sammilani Medical College and Hospital during June 2019–December 2020 among 180 pregnant women in term having no obstetric complications that warranted continuous monitoring of fetal heart rate admitted in labor. Principles of descriptive statistics were used. Results: The mothers were classified into three groups such as labor admission test (LAT) reactive, LAT suspicious, and LAT pathological. Majority of the mothers were aged <20 years, nullipara, primigravida, having clear liquor, which underwent emergency LUCS. About 35% mothers were carrying fetus having distress. The newborns of almost 44% mothers were admitted in NICU. The sensitivity of admission CTG to detect intrapartum fetal distress is 84.13%, specificity is 67.52%, positive predictive value is 58.24%, and negative predictive value is 88.76%. Conclusion: Admission CTG does not benefit the neonatal outcome in normal- or low-risk women and rather results in increased obstetric intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of continuous electronic fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring has presented the obstetrician with a critical clinical conundrum: basic science observations suggest that such monitoring might be associated with improved long-term neurologic outcomes, yet, after a half century of use and millions of cesarean deliveries based on FHR monitoring, evidence for such improvement remains absent. This dichotomy appears to be related to widespread misconceptions regarding the physiology underlying various FHR patterns and the developmental origins of cerebral palsy. These misconceptions are strengthened by a reliance on anecdotal experience and tradition in lieu of evidence-based medicine, the confusing "category II" FHR designation, medical-legal considerations, and our tendency to view fetal monitoring, as originally conceptualized, as a single, indivisible entity whose concepts must be accepted or rejected en bloc. Ill-defined and largely imaginary conditions such as "depletion of fetal reserve" are particularly harmful and their use in clinical medicine uniquely not evidence based. A solution to this self-inflicted injury to our specialty will require a concerted effort involving teachers, authors, and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiotocography (CTG) is a popular clinical tool to assess foetal health status. Automatic CTG analysis can remove the judgement differences of inter- and intra- doctors. However, absence of CTG database has hindered the development of automatic CTG analysis based on deep learning. Therefore, digitization of CTG signal from clinic report is an important way to enrich CTG database, and in turn promote the automatic CTG analysis. The proposed digitization method extracts digital signal from the commonly used binary CTG paper reports. An adaptive region positioning algorithm based on statistical calculation is used to locate signal regions. Then, by deducing the dynamic minimal weight sum in theory, methods based on statistical calculation and on the weight sum are designed to remove grid lines. Next, according to different breakpoint types and signal line trends, different signal reconstruction methods are formulated. This realize extracting the signal line from binary background grid lines. Finally, a calibration method based on segmented sampling is designed to reduce calibration error due to smartphone lens distortion. The experimental results show that the correlation coefficients of FHR and UC of proposed method both reached 0.98. After three expert gynaecologists's evaluations, there are no clinically relevant differences were identified between the extracted signals and the reference ones. • First time to extract the cardiotocograph signals from the binary clinic paper report. • Adaptive region positioning algorithm based on statistical calculation. • Statistical calculation and weight sum are designed to remove grid lines. • Segmented sampling is designed to reduce calibration error due to smartphone lens distortion. • Digitization of CTG signal is important way to promote the automatic CTG analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Globally, 2.5 million neonates died in 2018, accounting for 46% of under-5 deaths. Multiparameter continuous physiological monitoring (MCPM) of neonates allows for early detection and treatment of life-threatening health problems. However, neonatal monitoring technology is largely unavailable in low-resource settings.Methods: In four evaluation rounds, we prospectively compared the accuracy of the EarlySense under-mattress device to the Masimo Rad-97 pulse CO-oximeter with capnography reference device for heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR) measurements in neonates in Kenya. EarlySense algorithm optimisations were made between evaluation rounds. In each evaluation round, we compared 200 randomly selected epochs of data using Bland-Altman plots and generated Clarke error grids with zones of 20% to aid in clinical interpretation.Results: Between 9 July 2019 and 8 January 2020, we collected 280 hours of MCPM data from 76 enrolled neonates. At the final evaluation round, the EarlySense MCPM device demonstrated a bias of -0.8 beats/minute for HR and 1.6 breaths/minute for RR, and normalised spread between the 95% upper and lower limits of agreement of 6.2% for HR and 27.3% for RR. Agreement between the two MCPM devices met the a priori-defined threshold of 30%. The Clarke error grids showed that all observations for HR and 197/200 for RR were within a 20% difference.Conclusion: Our research indicates that there is acceptable agreement between the EarlySense and Masimo MCPM devices in the context of large within-subject variability; however, further studies establishing cost-effectiveness and clinical effectiveness are needed before large-scale implementation of the EarlySense MCPM device in neonates.Trial Registration Number: NCT03920761. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligent classification of cardiotocography (CTG) based on machine learning (ML), a useful tool to improve the accuracy of fetal abnormality detection, can assist obstetricians with clinical decisions. With the advancement of information technologies and medical devices, there are development opportunities for multicenter clinical research and obtaining more digital CTG signals. However, most of the existing clinical multicenter CTG datasets are partially annotated and have discrepancies which do not satisfy the ML condition of independent identical distribution. Therefore, this paper focuses on an unsupervised domain adaptation (UDA) algorithm to realize cross-domain intelligent classification of multimodal CTG signals. We propose a method dubbed domain adversarial training of neural network for multicenter CTG (DANNMCTG), which mainly consists of a label classifier, a feature extractor and a domain discriminator. To match different distribution of fetal heart rate (FHR), uterine contraction (UC) and fetal movement (FetMov) signals, we condition the domain alignment on label predictions by defining the multi-linear map. For analysis, two datasets from the hospital central station and home monitoring devices were considered as the source and target domains. The results showed that the accuracy value, F1 value and area under the curve (AUC) value of the DANNMCTG were 71.25%, 76.08% and 0.7705, respectively. This method significantly improved the performance of the deep learning models without exploiting any information in the target domain, and outperformed the state-of-the-art UDA algorithms for CTG classification. In summary, the DANNMCTG can effectively mitigate the influence of domain shift for multicenter intelligent prenatal fetal monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Sinusoidal pattern in fetal heart rate monitoring is linked to severe anemia or hypovolemia. • Computational spectral analysis distinguishes sinusoidal and pseudosinusoidal patterns from controls. • The use of the energy proportion variable predicts sinusoidal patterns with adverse perinatal effects. • Classification tree differentiates sinusoidal from pseudosinusoidal patterns. • Implementing model in labor units enhances diagnosis and management of suspected sinusoidal-like patterns. The sinusoidal pattern in cardiotocographic (CTG) monitoring shows a sinus-shaped signal longer than 30 min without short-term variability. It is commonly linked to fetal morbidity, particularly severe fetal anemia. Pseudosinusoidal patterns resemble sinusoidal patterns but without adverse fetal outcomes. This study aims to characterise sinusoidal and pseudosinusoidal patterns using spectral analysis. A multicenter study case-control was conducted between January 2012 and February 2023. Maternal characteristics, perinatal data, and CTG parameters through spectral analysis were examined. The spectrum of the electrocardiographic signal was calculated, and the proportion of energy (PE), short- and long-term variability, amplitude, and the differences between sinusoidal, pseudosinusoidal, and control groups were compared. A predictive model for signal type was built using a classification tree. 60 CTG records were collected, including 38 controls. Of the 13 sinusoidal patterns detected, all exhibited a sinusoidal pattern with a PE ratio > 0.3, 9 of them (69 %) had a PE ratio > 0.5, and 4 (31 %) were in the range of 0.3–0.5. Among the 9 cases diagnosed as pseudosinusoidal, all had a sinusoidal pattern with a PE within the range of 0.3–0.5. Every control exhibited a PE < 0.3, except for one case. Short-term variability demonstrated limited discriminatory capability, while long-term variability showed a strong discriminatory capacity. For the classification tree, accuracy diagnosis was 92.3 %, 88.8 %, and 97.3 % for the sinusoidal, pseudosinusoidal, and control groups, respectively. Computerised spectral analysis and the variable PE within the frequency range of 1.8–3.5 are reliable parameters to discriminate sinusoidal patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]