The present study was designed to investigate the fetal electrocardiograms on 381 cases of the pregnant women.
The abdominal bipolar lead was used in majority cases, but sometime the direct lead placing one electrode on the fundus of the uterus and the other electrode on the fetal head was applied.
The fetal electrocardiogram started to be obtained in 15 out of 19 cases (78.9 %) as esrly as the first half of the fifth lunar month and 80-100 % of cases were able to record during the 6 th to the latter half of the 7 th lunar month. Then the rate of the cases for recording decreased until the end of the 8 th lunar month and increased to the rate of 93.8-100 % during the period of the 9 th and the 10 th lunar month.
The decrease of heart rate, the prolongation of the QRS interval and the increase of the amplitude of the QRS complex were noted as pregnancy progressing.
According to the direction of QRS complex the fetal electrocardiogram was classified into R pattern and S pattern. The R pattern was observed in 99.3 % of the cases with cephalic presentation and the S pattern in 61.9 % of the cases with breech presentation.
The determination of fetal position was possible using the combination of vertical lead and horizontal lead.
The frequency of various patterns of the QRS complex in the normal cases of with cephalic presentation was as follows : R pattern 51.8%, Rs 22.4%, qR 17.0%, qRs 1.7%, R. S 8.6 %, rS 3.4%, and S 10.3%.
The heart rate decreased upon the fit of labor pains or the administration of pituitary posterior hormones, and increaced by oxygenating the mother. However, these factors did not induce any significant change on the QRS complex.
In the reference to the Rs pattern and rS pattern, these were obtained in 53.8 % of the cases which had asphyxia and indicated the apgar index below 7, and in 24.5 % of the cases with coiling of the cord. These numbers were greater than those in normal cases.
The QRS amplitude useing dinect lead from the fetal head was 1.8-3.5 times compared with the aplitude of leading from the abdominal wall.
The large amount of hydramnions interf erred the recording of fetal electrocardiogram.
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