Studies in Fetal Behavior: I. Fetal Heart Rate as a Behavioral Indicator

Sontag, Lester W.; Richards, T. W.

doi:10.2307/1165470

Cited by 48 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Are there individual differences in fetal reactivity to stimulation?) (Sontag & Richards, 1938; Sontag & Wallace, 1935a) were prescient and many of the findings, necessarily reliant on rudimentary methods, have withstood the test of time.…”

Section: Chapter 1 Fetal Development Research In Context: Seventy-fimentioning

confidence: 99%

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DiPietro¹,

Costigan²,

Voegtline³

2015

Monographs Society Res Child

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Among the earliest volumes of this Monograph series was a report by Lester Sontag and colleagues, of the esteemed Fels Institute, on the heart rate of the human fetus as an expression of the developing nervous system. Here, some 75 years later, we commemorate this work and provide historical and contemporary context on knowledge regarding fetal development, as well as results from our own research. These are based on synchronized monitoring of maternal and fetal parameters assessed between 24 and 36 weeks gestation on 740 maternal-fetal pairs compiled from eight separate longitudinal studies, which commenced in the early 1990s. Data include maternal heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and electrodermal activity and fetal heart rate, motor activity, and their integration. Hierarchical linear modeling of developmental trajectories reveals that the fetus develops in predictable ways consistent with advancing parasympathetic regulation. Findings also include: within-fetus stability (i.e., preservation of rank ordering over time) for heart rate, motor, and coupling measures; a transitional period of decelerating development near 30 weeks gestation; sex differences in fetal heart rate measures but not in most fetal motor activity measures; modest correspondence in fetal neurodevelopment among siblings as compared to unrelated fetuses; and deviations from normative fetal development in fetuses affected by intrauterine growth restriction and other conditions. Maternal parameters also change during this period of gestation and there is evidence that fetal sex and individual variation in fetal neurobehavior influence maternal physiological processes and the local intrauterine context. Results are discussed within the framework of neuromaturation, the emergence of individual differences, and the bidirectional nature of the maternal-fetal relationship. We pose a number of open questions for future research. Although the human fetus remains just out of reach, new technologies portend an era of accelerated discovery of the earliest period of development.

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Section: Chapter 1 Fetal Development Research In Context: Seventy-fimentioning

confidence: 99%

Untitled

DiPietro¹,

Costigan²,

Voegtline³

2015

Monographs Society Res Child

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“…"If we pursue our quest beyond the newborn period, we find ourselves suddenly in an entirely new situation, where our organism is not seen, nor scarcely felt nor heard" [Sontag and Richards, 1938;p. 1].…”

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Neurobehavioral assessment before birth

DiPietro

2005

Ment. Retard. Dev. Disabil. Res. Rev.

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The complexities of neurobehavioral assessment of the fetus, which can be neither directly viewed nor manipulated, cannot be understated. Impetus to develop methods for measuring fetal neurobehavioral development has been provided by the recognition that individual differences in neurobehavioral functioning do not originate with birth and acceptance of the key contribution of the antenatal period to postnatal life. Research has centered around four aspects of fetal functioning: heart rate, motor activity, behavioral state, and responsivity to stimulation. Longitudinal studies have revealed that the developmental trajectories of these characteristics parallel the developing nervous system, detected a transitional period between 28 and 32 weeks gestation, and established within-fetal stability during the second half of gestation. Despite the promise of fetal stimulation and habituation paradigms as measures of neural functioning, significant safety and ethical concerns exist. Construction of a unified fetal neurobehavioral scale is premature until a sufficient degree of normative data is available and the predictive validity of specific aspects of fetal neurobehavior to child developmental outcomes is better established.

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“…( c ) A general tendency toward the leveling off of longitudinal trends and of variability in prenatal phenomena toward the final month has been previously reported in a rather wide variety of functions (15,16,20,21).…”

Section: T a K E N A T About The 8th Month 3calculated From Columnmentioning

confidence: 59%

Can Mothers Rate Fetal Environment?

Newbery

Pyle

Champney

1943

The Journal of Psychology

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There appear to be certain "psycho-physiological" conditions of the pregnant mother which are of particular interest as possible ingredients of the fetal environment. These conditions exhibit marked fluctuations and individual differences during the normal course of pregnancy, and in many respects they can be subjected to deliberate modification. If any such factors are found to have enduring effects on the fetus-even if the effect is small-the prenatal prediction and control of human personality may be removed from the realm of old wives' tales and take its place as a legitimate problem of psychological science.In the Fels longitudinal study of child development we have attempted to get at some of these conditions by means of a graphic self-rating form for assaying 13 aspects of the mother's experience during pregnancy. T h e scales deal with attitudes, moods, observations, reactions, and psycho-physiological states. I n three years oi regular use something over 400 sets of weekly ratings have been collected from 35 pregnant mothers. This paper describes the scales in their setting in a developmental program and presents data on their reliability.

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Studies in Fetal Behavior: I. Fetal Heart Rate as a Behavioral Indicator

Cited by 48 publications

References 23 publications

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Neurobehavioral assessment before birth

Can Mothers Rate Fetal Environment?

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